Turkey sent at least three aircraft – including a helicopter and two seaplanes – following Greece’s urgent international appeal for help to fight the fires raging in the Eastern Attica region and threatening the capital Athens itself, with a front of almost 40 km fanned by strong winds and temperatures hovering around 40 degrees Celsius.
Turkey’s diplomatic sources quoted by Turkish media confirmed that the three aircraft arrived on Tuesday in the Greek capital, where they landed early today at Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport after the Turkish government on Monday offered to help the country contain the massive wildfire that broke out on Sunday evening around the municipality of Varnavas.
Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan reportedly informed his Greek counterpart that Turkey is ready to send whatever help is necessary, given that there are no major fires on Turkish territory at the moment. The Greek authorities announced yesterday that the fire, which started on Sunday afternoon just 20 km from Athens, had already destroyed at least 10,000 hectares, including forested areas.
The aid sent by Turkey is in addition to that sent by several EU countries following an urgent appeal by the Greek government; France, Italy, the Czech Republic, Romania and Serbia are among the countries planning to send hundreds of troops to fight the fire as well as helicopters, buckets and trucks, as Greece struggled today for the third day in a row to contain flames that reach more than 25 metres in height and are dangerously close to Athens suburbs such as Nea Penteli, Palaia Penteli, Patima Halandriou and Vrilissia, where the wildfires have already forced the evacuation of thousands of people.
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Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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