Greece's foreign minister, Nikos Dendias, over the weekend categorically denied that Turkish gendarmerie forces have occupied a strip of land along the Evros River separating Greece and Turkey at the Thrace province, and after the river there reportedly changed course.
The allegation generated a firestorm of media coverage in Greece, extensive interest on the part of social media users and opposition barbs against the conservative government, with Dendias attracting much of the criticism himself.
In a bid to deflect concerns - as well as disparagement by political opponents - Dendias claimed the Evros (Maritsa) River changed direction at the specific site, that there was a "activity" there, but no occupation.
Media reports pointed to a marshy area of 1.6 hectares at the tip of a west-to-east salient of Greek territory that protrudes east of the river, itself a geographical shape from previous meanderings of the Evros.
The Greek Fm claimed the furor arose from a report in a British tabloid, which was then reproduced by a far-right Greek party.
"Greece began preparatory measurements for the expansion of a fence on the Evros River. Turkey then requested that we convey to it the coordinates for the fence's construction; Greece answered in the negative, and stated that the fence is being erected exclusively within Greek territory," he told an evening newscast (Skai-TV) on Sunday, while adding:
"Activity was observed on the part of Turkey in one of the sites where works had begun; Athens then sent a second notification to the ambassador of Turkey, requesting that no Turkish action be taken as a result."
The fact that Dendias made a live appearance on a newscast demonstrated the intensity of local media speculation and social media reaction.
Nerves are still sensitive in the east Mediterranean country two-and-a-half months after official Turkey boasted that it would not stop third country nationals on its territory from trying to illegally enter Greece - but not Bulgaria - in a bid to reach preferred destinations in central and western Europe. The results was tens of thousands of people gathering at a border post (Kastanies), often with the facilitation of Turkish authorities, in a bid to slip into Greece, leading to a partial mobilization on the Greek side to prevent the mass entry of would-be migrants.
