Greece's chief of the national defense general staff, Adm. Evangelos Apostolakis, on Wednesday received US ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt, amid a recent spike in tensions in the eastern Mediterranean due to Turkish aggressiveness on the high seas.
Ankara has sent warships over the past month to block exploratory drilling in Cyprus' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), while Turkish authorities continue to hold two Greek military servicemen, who allegedly strayed into Turkish territory exactly a week ago, with judicial foot-dragging keeping the two men in a cell in the Turkish border city of Edirne.
According to related reports, Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos also held successive meetings this week with former military commanders, with the focus being directly on continuing Turkish provocations in the eastern Aegean.
