Binali Yıldırım

Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul has written to his Greek counterpart Stavros Kontonis saying "Greece is becoming a gathering place for criminals" following a court ruling releasing one of eight Turkish servicemen seeking asylum in Greece, Anadolu reported on Saturday.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Friday responded sternly to a Greek court decision releasing one of eight Turkish servicemen seeking asylum in Greece, declaring that the country was becoming a "safe haven" for Turkey's enemies.

One day after the Council of State ordered to the release of one of the eight Turkish servicemen who have sought political asylum in Greece, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said the country was becoming a "safe haven" for Turkey's enemies.

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım on April 18 said moves to hold planned early elections in Turkey would start "immediately."

Turkey made up the story about its coast guard taking down a Greek flag on an islet in the southeastern Aegean after a Turkish helicopter was chased off from the area of Ro, Alternate Defense Minister Fotis Kouvelis said on Tuesday.

Hopes that tensions between Athens and Ankara could be defused after the recent phone conversation between Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his Turkish counterpart Binali Yildirim were dashed Monday after the latter again attempted to raise questions about Greek sovereignty over parts of the Aegean.

The mayor of Fourni, the island where the three Greeks alleged to have put up a Greek flag on the nearby Mikros Anthropofas islet are reportedly from, has told Kathimerini that the flag is still up, following claims by Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim that Turkish coast guard officers took down the flag.

Greek government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said on Monday that there was no evidence of any "violation of Greek territory" following claims by Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim that the Turkish coast guard took down Greek flag from an Aegean islet.

Yildirim had indicated that the islet was in a "disputed area" in the Aegean, a concept that Greece rejects.

The Turkish coastguard has removed a Greek flag that had been raised on an islet in the Aegean Sea, off the coast of the Turkish resort town of Didim, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Monday.

Turkey has removed a Greek flag planted on a rocky islet in the Aegean Sea, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has said, urging Athens to refrain from "provocative moves" that would further escalate tension between the two neighbors.