Greek politicians reacted angrily on Monday following the admission by former Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz that Turkish secret agents intentionally started forest fires in Greece in the 1990s as part of state-sponsored sabotage.

The claims are not new and were common knowledge on the islands of the eastern Aegean which were particularly hard hit by wildfires in the 1990s. But Yilmaz’s comments -- part of an interview published in the Turkish daily newspaper Birgun over the weekend -- are the first admission by an official source that Ankara was funding subversive activities in Greece.

According to Yilmaz, who served as premier three times in the 1990s, agents of the Turkish secret service set fire to Greek forests during the leadership of his archrival Tansu Ciller, from 1995 to 1998. During that period major forest fires caused huge damage on the islands of the eastern Aegean and in Macedonia.

The news sparked political outrage Greece on Monday. Foreign Ministry spokesman Grigoris Delavekouras said the claims were “serious and must be investigated,” adding that Athens was awaiting a briefing from Ankara.

The Greek Foreign Ministry on Monday said allegations of former Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz who claimed that Turkey's "deep state' apparatus sent agents to burn forest areas in Greece between 1995 and 1997 were 'serious' , underlining that this report must be further investigated.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Grigoris Delavekouras noted that "the Greek side is expecting to be briefed by the relevant Turkish authorities"

Political parties reactions

A main opposition New Democracy (ND) sector head referred to "ominous shadows" in Greek-Turkish relations, while calling on the Erdogan government in Ankara to immediately provide Athens with the necessary and comprehensive information into every facet of the allegation. Moreover, ND deputy Panos Panayiotopoulos said a full restitution of damages should be provided if the charges stick, while the Turkish side would also have to pledge that such "black operations" have ceased to be planned and executed by Turkish intelligence agencies or their affiliates.amna

"The political issue that has arisen is huge and must be dealt with, amongst others, by the European Union's institutional organs, which today's Turkey wants to approach," the former ND minister said.

On his part, LA.O.S party leader and founder George Karatzaferis reminded that Greece's "political establishment" had lazily referred to his "extremist positions" when in the past he charged that Turkish interests were behind such wildfires.

"Now, from the lips of a former Turkish prime minister a crime is confessed. They (former Greek leaders) can be proud of their (Turkish) friends and 'koumbari'," he said in a written statement. amna

Finally, MP Dora Bakoyannis, a former foreign minister in the previous Karamanlis government, cited what she called the "most heinous of Turkey's practices ... ones which create a major political issue," in statements following Yilmaz's claims that the one-time Tansu Ciller government allocated "secret funds" to torch Greek forests.

Bakoyannis also called for the claims to be aired in EU and international fora and for compensation to be demanded.