Greek soldiers return home after months in Turkish prison

Greek authorities say that two Greek soldiers freed after spending months in a Turkish prison, have been released from hospital following medical checks and are returning to their families.

The two were given a clean bill of health on Wednesday from a military hospital in northern Greece, a Greek military official said.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to release details.

They soldiers flew back from Turkey on a Greek government plane after being released from prison in the northwestern Turkish town of Edirne late on Tuesday.

The men were arrested March 1 for entering Turkey illegally after crossing the heavily militarised land border. Greece strongly protested their detention, arguing they had strayed across during a patrol in poor visibility due to bad weather.

Relief in Greece

Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said he phoned his Turkish counterpart to express his satisfaction with the soldiers' release and invite him to visit Greece.

"I hope that their release today, on this auspicious day, will also herald a new day in Greek-Turkish relations," Kammenos told reporters. "We can live together and we can live in peace for the benefit of both peoples."

The soldiers, an army junior officer and a sergeant, were met by Kammenos, the army chief of staff and an honour guard after their arrival before dawn at the airport in the northern city of Thessaloniki.

"All I want to say is thank you," 2nd Lieutenant Angelos Mitretodis told reporters.