The Greek government has dismissed a report in the Turkish media that the two soldiers held in Turkey for inadvertently crossing into the country are to be investigated for espionage.
A spokesman for the defense ministry in Athens said that the report by the state-runĀ Anadolu Agency is “baseless”.
Anadolu reported earlier that the Turkish authorities had discovered āmilitary drawingsā during a search of the media on the soldiers’ personal cellphones and on an encrypted phone they were carrying at the time of their arrest at the start of March.
The Turkish agency’s report claimed the two soldiers are being charged with attempted military espionage and illegal entry into a restricted military area.
The two Greek soldiers are being held at a prison in the Turkish town of Edirne.
Their prolonged detention has prompted some — including Greece’s defense minister Panos Kammenos — to describe them as āhostages.ā
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is expected to raise the issue at the EU Summit taking place in Brussels on Thursday.
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