ANKARA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The relations between Turkey and Greece have always been marred by tensions. The NATO allies are now again face-to-face over the ownership of tiny islands and destiny of soldiers detained in both countries.
A Greek fighter jet crashed into Aegean Sea on April 12, its pilot killed, making matters worse in the already strained ties between the two neighbors.
Greece said that the aircraft was returning from a mission to intercept Turkish fighter jets, citing intensified dogfights in recent months amid increased tension.
But Ankara denied having played any role in the incident, saying that "there were no Turkish warplanes nearby when the accident occurred."
Following the fatal incident, three young men sailed in the Aegean and placed a Greek flag on a disputed islet near the Turkish town of Didim, in order to "honor the pilot."
In response, Turkish Coast Guard immediately intervened to remove the flag as Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim urged Athens to avoid escalating tensions.
The neighboring countries have been at war with each other several times in the 20th century and were close to military conflict over the disagreement on the ownership of islet Kardak (Imia in Greek) in 1996, before the United States and its then President Bill Clinton stepped in to avert disaster.
But this time Washington has other fish to fry with President Donald Trump entangled in domestic burdens, and there is an absence of a mediation from other global powers.
"The issue of the inhabited islet whose status is undefined reveals the fact that it (a conflict) is not to be ruled out," said Birgul Demirtas, professor of international relations at Ankara TOBB University.
The expert argued that "the escalation of tensions will be harmful to both Greece and Turkey as well as to the stability of the whole region," which lies at the eastern point of the European Union.
To make things worse, the Trump administration lacks the desire and experience in crisis management compared with the Clinton's government, said Demirtas.
Besides the disputed islets in the Aegean, there is also the issue of soldiers detained in both countries creating another rift between the two nations.
Only days after announcing snap elections, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made a controversial proposal of soldiers swap between the two countries.
He said that Ankara would consider returning two Greek border guards detained in Turkey if Athens first extradited eight Turkish asylum seekers in Greece, who had allegedly participated in the botched military coup in July 2016.
In a statement released late on April 22, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras strongly rejected Erdogan's proposal, calling it "unacceptable."
Other recent developments have also added to the decades-long rift.
Talks have broken down over the status of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, which is divided into a Greek-backed and internationally-recognized state in the south, and a Turkish-backed state in the north.
Hydrocarbon explorations by the Greek-backed state was opposed by Ankara and the Turkish Cypriots, a solution is yet to be found on the division of the island.
Moreover, there is an atmosphere of lassitude in Turkey towards what it called the "Greek populist policies."
"The Greek government coalition's populist faction is trying to exploit the situation at their benefit by nationalist remarks. This will lead nowhere. We need mostly dialogue to solve our differences," said a diplomatic source speaking on the condition of anonymity.
The comment was referring to the junior partner of the coalition, the Independent Greeks, whose leader Panos Kammenos is the current minister of defense.
As Turkey is bracing for crucial early legislative and presidential elections which will shift the parliamentary system to a presidential one, a wave of nationalism is likely to awake that could lead to a public demand for reclaiming the disputed islets on the Aegean.
