Ankara ups ante over eight Turkish officers

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Friday responded sternly to a Greek court decision releasing one of eight Turkish servicemen seeking asylum in Greece, declaring that the country was becoming a "safe haven" for Turkey's enemies.

Yildirim said it was "unacceptable" for people who took part in the coup attempt in the summer of 2016 to be protected by Greece. "Unfortunately, recently, criminals of the FETO organization have started seeing Greece as a safe haven," he said, referring to what Ankara describes as a terrorist group led by exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen. "I hope they will extradite the members of this organization," he said, adding that Turkish authorities "do not desire a negative impact on Greek-Turkish relations because of members of the FETO organization."

His comments came a day after Greece's Council of State ordered the release of one of the eight...