Greece presents diplomatic note to Turkey over PM’s plane flight path crisis

The plane on which Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras traveled to Iran on Feb. 7 was reportedly not allowed to fly through Turkish airspace, prompting Greece to send a diplomatic note to Turkey.

According to the Hürriyet daily, Turkey and Greece had a “mini crisis” before Tsipras’s visit to Iran on Feb. 7, with the military plane carrying Tsipras not being allowed to travel through Turkish airspace after departing from the Greek island of Rhodes. Referring to the Paris Peace Treaties of 1947, Turkish authorities said military planes could not enter Turkish airspace if they departed from Rhodes.

The plane carrying Tsipras and the Greek diplomatic delegation changed its route as a result and flew to Iran through Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

The Paris Peace Treaties were signed between the Allied powers and Italy in 1947. According to the agreement, Italy ceded sovereignty over the Dodecanese Islands, which include Rhodes, to Greece. The agreement also stipulated the demilitarization of the islands.