Turkey military attaches in Greece “flee to Italy” after coupAugust 11, 2016 - 16:31 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Two Turkish military attaches posted in Greece fled to Italy at the weekend following last month's failed coup, Turkey's top diplomat said Thursday, August 11 saying Ankara was working to track them down, AFP reports. Speaking to NTV television, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said colonels Halis Tunc and Ilhan Yasitli left on August 6, taking the car ferry across the Adriatic Sea to Italy. "We are working to bring both these traitors back to Turkey," he said, without detailing the allegations against them. "The Greek authorities recorded this. Tunc's brother lives in Holland. We are working with both the Netherlands and Italy," he said. Earlier this week, media reports said the pair had gone missing. Yasitli is reported to be the overall military attache and Tunc the naval attache but their accreditation with Athens has been cancelled. Turkey has embarked on a wholescale purge of the military in the wake of the coup which was blamed on followers of the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen. In a separate case that has strained improving ties between Ankara and Athens, eight Turkish military officers fled by helicopter to Greece after the failed coup of July 15. To block their deportation back to Turkey, they have applied for asylum. They have been handed suspended two-month prison terms for illegal entry and will remain in police custody until their asylum hearing on August 19. Two Turkish generals serving in the NATO force in Afghanistan were also detained in Dubai last month on suspicion of links to the failed coup. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Ucom Celebrates Telecommunication Day May 17 commemorates the founding of the International Telecommunication Union on May 17, 1865. Armenian, Azerbaijani heads of parliament meet in Switzerland President of the Armenian parliament Alen Simonyan met with the Speaker of the Azerbaijani Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova. Border residents overnight on highway to protest Armenia’s Residents of Kirants continue to express outrage over the government’s decision to cede land to Azerbaijan. Get Started: An educational platform for young startuppers The Get Started program which operates in two phases is an important platform for young startuppers. |