Turkey demands Greece extradites ‘criminals’ as Athens walks diplomatic tightrope for EU

The group commandeered a helicopter and fled to Greece from Turkey after the putsch against President Tayyip Erdogan, which left 250 people dead and 1,400 injured.

The men have tried to gain political asylum, but Ankara has branded them criminals who were involved in the coup plot.

Greek courts have rejected Ankara’s requests, with Turkey’s foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu ramping up the pressure on Greece to extradite the group.

Mr Cavusoglu said: “The Greek justice system, contrary to the rules and the principles of the international law, is letting the culprits go unpunished and is violating the victims’ rights.

“We remain determined in our effort to make sure that the fugitive coup perpetrators will be extradited and stand trial in Turkey.”

He added: “We should continue the process of bilateral talks without any conditions. This is the way to solve our problems.”

Diplomatic relations between historic enemies Greece and Turkey have been strained for years.

The Middle East refugee crisis, fuelled by the war in Syria, stoked EU tensions further, with 3.5 million migrants fleeing to Turkey before making bids for EU soil.

Under a March 2016 EU deal Turkey must take all migrants who cross to Greece illegally by sea.

In return, the EU pledged to send £5.3 billion (€6 billion) in aid to Turkey to help migrants and promised visa-free travel for Turks.

Mr Cavusoglu has claimed Turkey respected the deal and demanded the EU should now keep its promises.

Turkey has repeatedly threatened to pull out of the deal, claiming Brussels is not fulfilling its side of the bargain.

EU chiefs are concerned that Turkey’s mounting economic problems could lead to financial meltdown and put the migrant deal at risk.

Turkey and Greece are also divided over Cyprus, which has been divided since Turkey invaded the north in 1974 following a military coup backed by Athens.

Peace talks aimed at reunifying the island collapsed in 2017.