ANKARA, Jan 12 (AFP) - Turkey on Wednesday rejected accusations that its coastguard had violated Greek territorial waters near disputed rocks in the Aegean Sea over which the two neighbors almost went to war nine years ago.
Foreign ministry spokesman Namik Tan told reporters that a Greek fishing boat entered Turkey's territorial waters near Imia, or Kardak in Turkish, on Tuesday, prompting action by the Turkish coastguard.
"The intervention of the coastguard secured the departure of that boat from our territorial waters," Tan said.
He did not give other details.
The Greek military charged Tuesday that two Turkish coastguard patrol boats entered Greek territorial waters at the Imia rocks and stayed there for two and four hours respectively despite repeated calls by a Greek patrol boat to withdraw.
The Greek foreign ministry said the alleged violation was a breach of the principles of the European Union, which Turkey is seeking to join.
"Such behaviour is observed and will be judged upon," the ministry said, adding Greece would inform fellow EU member states of the incident.
In 1996, Greece and Turkey came to the brink of war over Imia.
Both countries have since been patrolling the area to assert their claims over the uninhabited rocks.
Athens claims the rocks as its own, while Ankara says they are part of a "grey area" in the Aegean whose ownership has not been determined in agreements between the two countries.
Although they are NATO allies and are enjoying an unusual period of warmth in their traditionally stormy ties, Turkey and Greece remain at loggerheads over territorial rights in the Aegean and regularly trade accusations of violations and harassment.
In January 2002, the two neighbors launched closed-door talks to resolve their disputes, but no hint of progress has emerged publicly so far.
01/12/2005 11:30 GMT - AFP