A Turkish court on Tuesday ordered the release of two Greek soldiers detained since March on espionage charges for illegally crossing the border in a case that has stoked tensions between Athens and Ankara.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras immediately welcomed the move as an "act of justice".
Their release will "contribute to a reinforcement of friendship, good neighbourliness and stability in the region," Tsipras said in a statement.
The statement added that Greek officials would travel overnight to the Turkish city of Edirne and then return with the two men to Thessaloniki airport in northern Greece in the early hours of Wednesday.
Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency reported earlier that a court in the Edirne region had ruled that the two soldiers would now be tried without being held in detention but did not make clear if that meant they could return to Greece in the meantime.
The court had previously refused several requests for them to be released from detention.
The case added to a long list of troubles between Turkey and Greece which, though both NATO members since 1952, have tense relations.
The European Union had also backed member state Greece in the dispute, condemning the detention of the soldiers and calling for their release.
The release order for the two men -- which was wholly unexpected -- comes as Turkey is engulfed in a bitter dispute with its NATO ally the United States which has seen the Turkish lira plunge to record lows.
The soldiers, Lieutenant Aggelos Mitretodis and Sergeant Dimitros Kouklatzis, told prosecutors shortly after their arrest that they mistakenly crossed the border after getting lost in the fog.
But they were charged with "attempted military espionage" by prosecutors as well as entering a forbidden military zone.
The prosecution said the pair testified they entered the Turkish side by tracking footsteps in the snow and filmed images on their mobile phones to send to higher ranking officials.
Courts had until now repeatedly turned down requests from their lawyers for the release of the pair.
Athens and Ankara have also clashed over Turkish demands that Greece extradite eight Turkish troops wanted over the July 2016 attempted coup aimed at unseating President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
A Turkish court on Tuesday ordered the release of two Greek soldiers detained since March on espionage charges for illegally crossing the border in a case that has stoked tensions between Athens and Ankara.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras immediately welcomed the move as an “act of justice”.
Their release will “contribute to a reinforcement of friendship, good neighbourliness and stability in the region,” Tsipras said in a statement.
The statement added that Greek officials would travel overnight to the Turkish city of Edirne and then return with the two men to Thessaloniki airport in northern Greece in the early hours of Wednesday.
Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency reported earlier that a court in the Edirne region had ruled that the two soldiers would now be tried without being held in detention but did not make clear if that meant they could return to Greece in the meantime.
The court had previously refused several requests for them to be released from detention.
The case added to a long list of troubles between Turkey and Greece which, though both NATO members since 1952, have tense relations.
The European Union had also backed member state Greece in the dispute, condemning the detention of the soldiers and calling for their release.
The release order for the two men — which was wholly unexpected — comes as Turkey is engulfed in a bitter dispute with its NATO ally the United States which has seen the Turkish lira plunge to record lows.
The soldiers, Lieutenant Aggelos Mitretodis and Sergeant Dimitros Kouklatzis, told prosecutors shortly after their arrest that they mistakenly crossed the border after getting lost in the fog.
But they were charged with “attempted military espionage” by prosecutors as well as entering a forbidden military zone.
The prosecution said the pair testified they entered the Turkish side by tracking footsteps in the snow and filmed images on their mobile phones to send to higher ranking officials.
Courts had until now repeatedly turned down requests from their lawyers for the release of the pair.
Athens and Ankara have also clashed over Turkish demands that Greece extradite eight Turkish troops wanted over the July 2016 attempted coup aimed at unseating President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
