The United States has deployed MQ-9 Reaper drones at an air base in the city of Larissa, north-central Greece, according to the Turkish Anadolu Agency.

The agency indicated that, according to information obtained from the US Department of Defense and according to what was published by Greek media, the aforementioned drones were redeployed to the base after they were withdrawn earlier.

And the US Air Force sent those planes with their equipment and personnel to the aforementioned base on November 12, according to the same source.

These aircraft will be deployed for a period of one year within the framework of an agreement between the US Military Command in Europe "Yukum" and the Greek army, according to the joint defense cooperation agreement between the two countries.

And Anatolia quoted the Greek army as saying that the deployment of the aircraft comes as part of efforts to improve cooperation with the allied forces and to ensure the contribution to supporting the interoperability and deterrence of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).


Mounting tension

The American move comes at a time when tension continues between Ankara and Athens over the arming of Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, close to the Turkish coast.

And at the end of last September, the United States announced its affirmation of Greece's sovereignty over two islands in the Aegean Sea, after Ankara officially protested a Greek military deployment on the two islands.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price told the press at the time that "Greece's sovereignty over these two islands is not in question."

"We call on all parties to avoid grandiloquent rhetoric and to avoid taking steps that might exacerbate tensions," he added, noting that "the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected."

In turn, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu responded that the United States had abandoned the policy of neutrality and balance in the issues of Cyprus and the Aegean Sea in favor of Greece.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also warned the United States that its support for Athens in arming the islands would open the door to an arms race in the region.

In mid-September, Erdogan accused Greece of "occupying" islands in the Aegean Sea that had been taken by Greece after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, but that Greek soldiers could not be stationed there.

He warned that the Turkish army might "arrive overnight" and "do what is necessary" to enforce this situation.

He made it clear that there is no room for comparing Turkey's position in NATO with that of Greece, because the Turkish army is among the top five in the alliance, whether in terms of the expenses it pays or the ground forces and the power it gives.

On the other hand, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis confirmed that his country is "ready to confront" any threat to its sovereignty.