FOLLOWING another incident in the Aegean Sea, the Greek Prime Minister, Mr Costas Simitis, said yesterday his country wanted more support from its European and Nato partners in its rivalry with Turkey.
Greece lodged an official protest with Turkey yesterday, saying one of its patrol boats attempted to ram two Greek fishing boats over the weekend.
Mr Simitis also announced that a planned visit by the US Assistant Secretary of State, Mr Richard Holbrooke, had been cancelled. His government had cited scheduling problems, but sources close to Mr Simitis said the Prime Minister was wary of Mr Holbrooke's intentions in addressing a territorial dispute that has marked the latest flare up between two quarrelling Nato allies.
Mr Holbrooke said last week that he would visit Athens and Ankara to discuss tension between the two governments over a tiny, barren Aegean islet they both claim. But the Greek government, which suspects the United States of trying to force it into dialogue with Turkey, had already said on that it reserved the right to accept or reject a visit by Mr Holbrooke.
The weekend's reported incident comes of the heels of last week's tense showdown. The crisis ended when both sides pulled back military forces from around the island under heavy US diplomatic pressure.
According to Greek authorities, the latest incident began when a Turkish vessel fired warning shots as it and the Greek fishing boats crossed paths on Saturday night in international waters in the Aegean Sea.
The Turks gave up the chase after the two Greek boats rejoined their flotilla of 17 trawlers, the foreign ministry said.
Turkish authorities played down the incident, saying "there was some friction in the Aegean Sea at the time after last week's events, but no significant incident took place."
Mr Simitis, speaking after a ministerial meeting on the lingering crisis with Turkey, announced a series of diplomatic visits he said were deemed necessary in the wake of "hesitation" shown by Greece's partners over "recognising its sovereign rights and pledging their solidarity" with Athens.
"This atmosphere must be changed and we must win their support," he added. Mr Simitis said that in the next few weeks he would travel to Rome, Brussels, Bonn, Paris and London.
Other conflicts between the countries include the Cyprus question and oil drilling rights in Aegean waters separating the two countries.