NATO said Wednesday that a two-week-long multinational exercise in Turkey concluded successfully despite a row between traditional rivals Ankara and Athens over a disputed air corridor in the Aegean.
"NATO's exercise Destined Glory 2000 has concluded, bringing to a close the successful involvement of some 70 ships, over 100 aircraft, 70 helicopters and at its peak up to 21,000 soldiers," said a declaration on an official NATO website.
The Destined Glory maneuvers, which began on October 9 and ended Wednesday, were hailed as a further sign of improving bilateral relations between Turkey and Greece.
But the exercises, which saw Greek marines landing on Turkish soil for the first time in 78 years, were marred when the two countries began squabbling over an air corridor over the two Greek Aegean islands of Limnos and Icaria.
The spat broke out when Turkey objected to Greek planes using the corridor over the islands, which Ankara said was in violation of the islands' demilitarized status.
Greece twice suspended participation in the games and finally withdrew all its forces from the exercises on Sunday because of what it called Ankara's "unacceptable behavior" in imposing restrictions on its fighter jets in the Aegean.
The NATO statement acknowledged that "national disagreements between Greece and Turkey concerning airspace management" had resulted in the Greek pullout.
But it quoted exercise director Colonel Jeremy Robbins of Britain's Royal Marines as qualifying the maneuvers as a success.
"As always there were pluses and minuses, from which we will learn," Robbins said.
"However, when asked did we achieve our objectives, were we successful and did we acquit ourselves as our Nations collectively expect ... the answer is an unequivocal 'Yes'," he added.
Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United States also took part in the Destined Glory exercises, in which they simulated an invasion of a NATO country and that country's defense by its allies.
Following the air spat, both Turkish and Greek officials have said the row should not be allowed to affect the burgeoning rapprochement between the two states.
Traditionally tense ties between Ankara and Athens have improved significantly since the two countries launched a tentative dialogue process on secondary issues last year and helped each other in the wake of deadly earthquakes in August and September 1999.
But the two sides remain bitterly at odds on sovereignty disputes in the Aegean and the long-divided island of Cyprus -- ANKARA (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
