Turkey accused of pushing false story about ‘Greek drones’ deal

The report in the pro-government Turkish press also made it into western press before Greek sources rebuffed it.

By SETH J. FRANTZMAN
A Turkish flag, with the New and the Suleymaniye mosques in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, Turkey, April 11, 2019. (photo credit: MURAD SEZER/REUTERS)
A Turkish flag, with the New and the Suleymaniye mosques in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, Turkey, April 11, 2019.
(photo credit: MURAD SEZER/REUTERS)
In an effort perhaps aimed at embarrassing Greece or reducing tensions between Greece and Turkey, it appears Turkish media pushed a false story about drone sales to Athens.
Greek officials pushed back against a story last week that appeared in Daily Sabah and other outlets that claimed Turkish drones might be sold “for the first time” to the Greek army.
The report in the pro-government Turkish press press also made it into Western press before Greek sources rebuffed it and got at least one of the stories taken down from the Internet.
The first report noted: “Turkish-made drones that are used primarily in search and rescue or mine detection operations are ready to enter Greek Armed Forces inventory with a signed preliminary agreement.” This came the same week that Greece was on alert after a Turkish survey ship appeared to want to survey areas off a Greek island near Rhodes. Turkey has laid claim to a swath of sea it calls a “blue motherland” and which conflicts with Greek claims.
The drone deal seemed out of place among Turkey-Greek tensions. Turkey is now a leading maker of some drones, including the armed Bayraktars it has used in Libya and Iraq and Syria. These smaller drones, however, were being made by a company called Assuva Defense, reports claimed. Turkish media portrayed this as a potential Turkish deal with a fellow NATO country. “Greece to buy 50 Turkish drones,” headlines said.
Now the Greek City Times and Ahval say that Greece has rejected this story. Greek Defense Minister Nikolas Panagiotopoulos categorically denied it, and Greece says the story is part of “targeted leaks” that are designed to spread some kind of fake news. The originally printed story said Proton Elic RB-128 drones, which are small and about the height of a knee, with six rotors, would be exported.
The story and its denial illustrates how information warfare and other layers of conflict underpin the larger controversies that exist between Turkey and Greece. Turkey has been trying to pressure Greece by using refugees and other means.
The full story of the drones is not entirely known. For instance, it isn’t clear if they were offered for sale and simply not accepted, or if there were discussions at some level in the past. Overall, it’s not known what role the company had in promoting this drone-sales story or what role others, behind the scenes, may have had in promoting it.
However, the revelation of the news and the pushback show how details of sensitive defense deals can be used by the media. Turkey is already in the midst of similar controversies over its purchase of Russian S-400 air-defense systems and the US decision to put F-35 sales to Turkey on ice.