By Maria Spiliopoulou
ATHENS, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Greek government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos reiterated on Sunday a call to Turkey to swiftly conclude legal procedures and end the detention of two Greek soldiers.
The decrease of tensions was in the interest of both neighboring countries, the spokesman told Greek national news agency AMNA.
The two Greek soldiers were detained on March 1 after mistakenly straying into Turkish territory while on patrol amidst bad weather conditions, according to the Greek Defense ministry.
Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency, however, cited Turkish security sources as saying that the Greek soldiers faced charges of espionage and sending records on their phones to their superiors.
On March 5, a Turkish court had dismissed a request for the release of two Greek soldiers, ruling for their continuing custody for crossing into Turkey.
Tzanakopoulos also ruled out an exchange between the two Greek soldiers and the eight Turkish officers Ankara has been asking Greece to hand over since July 2016.
There is "absolutely no relation" between the two cases, he said.
The eight Turkish officers, who fled in a Turkish military helicopter to northern Greece in July 2016 a day after the failed coup attempt in Turkey, are accused by Turkish authorities as plotters.
They all deny any involvement in the coup attempt and express fear for their safety.
Greece's Supreme Court last year ruled against their extradition, while their asylum applications are still being assessed.
Despite being NATO allies, Turkey and Greece have a relationship strained, among others, over disputes in the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas over islets and gas drilling rights respectively and over Greece's refusal to extradite the eight Turkish soldiers.
Also on Sunday, hundreds of Greek protesters gathered in the northern Greek city of Orestiada, the hometown of one of the Greek soldiers, demanding their return with no further delay.
The demonstration was organized by local sports and cultural clubs.
