Turkish vessels, jets raise Aegean tension

Concerns are mounting in Athens as Ankara continued to raise the stakes on Thursday with a series of overflights by Turkish jets above several large eastern Aegean islands, while two Turkish Coast Guard vessels harassed a Frontex boat patrolling the sea border area and a Greek fishing boat. 

Another source of concern remains Turkey's stated intention to expedite its exploratory activities off southern Crete in areas included in the maritime border agreement signed by Ankara and the Tripoli-based government in Libya, which Greece and a long list of other countries have condemned as illegal.

The latest country to denounce the deal to the United Nations is Syria.

In the face of these challenges, Athens has sought to keep channels of communication open with regional players.

To this end, Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias spoke over the phone on Thursday with US...