The Greek government will examine a request for political asylum by all eight Turkish military cadres who landed at the Alexandroupolis airport, in extreme northeast Greece, aboard a Turkish army helicopter.
The eight servicemen, officers and NCOs, were reportedly part of a coup attempt that unfolded a day earlier, on Friday.
According to Reuters, who cites Greek government officials, the eight will be afforded the right to a judicial evaluation of their request.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has already signaled Ankara’s intent to demand the extradition of the eight, with other unconfirmed reports claiming that the former is confident Athens will hand them over.
In the meantime, the eight were taken into custody for illegal entry into the country, and will reportedly be led before a prosecutor in the border city on Sunday.
The Greek government has announced that it will immediately return the US-made “Blackhawk” helicopter to the Turkish side.
