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The crew of a Greek coast guard cutter fired warning shots today to deter a Turkish coast guard vessel that tried to push it into the eastern Aegean.

This was announced by the authorities in Athens at a time when the tension between the two neighbors remains high, the Associated Press reported.

The Turkish coast guard said its crew returned fire in the air and the Greek vessel was chased away.

A statement from the Greek coast guard said "the crew fired warning shots in a safe sector and the Turkish coast guard boat withdrew" to the Turkish coast.

The Coast Guard said the shots were fired in the air.

The statement did not mention any injuries or damage to the two vessels during the incident southeast of the Greek island of Farmakonisi.

According to the Greek coast guard, this happened in the territorial waters of Greece.

However, the Turkish coast guard offered a different version of events, saying that a Greek coast guard vessel had disturbed Turkish fishing boats off the Turkish coastal resort of Didim in the Aegean Sea, prompting Turkish authorities to dispatch a coast guard boat.

The Turkish boat chased the Greek boat away from the area, which allowed the Turkish fishing vessels to continue their activities, the Turkish side announced.

According to the information released, the Greek coast guard boat opened fire in the air while leaving the area, prompting the Turkish boat to return fire.

Erdogan again warned Greece

The incident comes at a time when relations between Greece and Turkey, historic regional rivals and NATO allies with a complicated relationship, have been more strained than usual in the past three years.

The Greek coast guard said its vessel was on a mission to identify three Turkish fishing boats in Greek waters off Farmakonisi.

It stated that the Greek crew opened fire after being disturbed by the Turkish coast guard cutter, which, according to the statement, was "carrying out dangerous maneuvers with the intention of ramming" the Greek ship, BTA noted.

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Aegean Sea

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