Kinaros

After months of declarations from top Turkish government officials that Greece's sovereignty over a number of its islands in the eastern Mediterranean is contingent upon Athens demilitarising them, now Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar has reportedly decided that he wishes to forbid Deputy Defence Minister Nikos Hardalias from visiting the said islands without Ankara's permission.

The Turkish media continue the provocative propaganda about the Greek islands, which they claim are Turkish.

Erkan Karakous, Vice Admiral, said that Agathonisi, Farmakonisi, Pserimos, Kinaros and some other islands belong to Turkey and there is no doubt about that.

The inhabitants of two tiny islets in the Aegean Sea are seeking to be included in this year's census in an effort to contain the installation of wind turbines in their locality.

Activists say that giving Kinaros and Levitha - located in the Dodecanese cluster and part of the Natura 2000 eco network - uninhabited status will facilitate the unchecked expansion of wind farms. 

Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou on Wednesday visited the remote border island of Kinaros, where she met with its only inhabitant, Katerina Katsotourhi.

Located in the west of the islands of Leros and Amorgos, Kinaros is the second western-most island of the Dodecanese after Astypalea, and its coastline measures only 4.5 square kilometers.

Two Turkish fighter jets entered Greek air space above the islet of Kinaros on Tuesday morning, according to the state-run Athens-Macedonian News Agency.

The pair of F-16s were flying at an altitude of 27,000 feet when they were spotted at 9.34 a.m. above the islet west of Kalymnos and Leros, and east of Amorgos in the eastern Aegean Sea.

Turkish provocations against Greece in the Aegean Sea continued unabated, as a series of violations of Greek airspace took place on Wednesday. Two F-16 fighter jets infringed the FIR of Athens at approximately 15.14pm, and then proceeded to violate Greek airspace by flying over the isle of Mavra, located west of the island of Levitha.

Turkey challenges Greece’s sovereignty rights in the Aegean Sea, while the search operation for the three crew members of the Hellenic Navy’s helicopter that crashed is still in progress .

The operation is being conducted in the sea area between the islands of Leros and Amorgos.

Three Greek navy personnel were missing on Feb. 11 after their helicopter crashed into a small islet in the Aegean Sea during an exercise, the defense ministry said.

Commando units recovered the wreckage near the Dodecanese islet of Kinaros, but the two pilots and one engineer on board were still unaccounted for, the ministry said.

The wreckage from the missing helicopter of Hellenic Navy was found at the islet of Kinaros on Thursday morning which had been missing since 2:45 am.

The two pilots and the radar operator who were on the helicopter have been officially declared missing. However, shortly after 11:00 authorities found one body.