Greek defense minister invites Turkish counterpart

ATHENS, Greece

Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos on Wednesday invited his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar to visit Greece following the release of two Greek soldiers pending trial on Tuesday.

The Greek ministry said in a statement that Kammenos spoke over the phone with Akar after two Greek soldiers --- Lt. Aggelos Mitretodis and Sgt. Dimitros Kouklatzis --- were released by a court in northwestern Edirne province.

"Defense Minister Panos Kammenos spoke with Turkey's Defense Minister Hulusi Akar over the phone. He expressed his appreciation over the release of the two Greek soldiers and invited him [Akar] for an official visit to Greece," said the statement.

On March 2, Lt. Aggelos Mitretodis and Sgt. Dimitros Kouklatzis were remanded in custody by a court after they were detained near the Pazarkule district of Edirne. According to the soldiers, they got lost due to bad weather and later came across local Turkish patrol units.

Turkish security sources said the Greek soldiers were accused of espionage and sending recordings on their smartphones to their superiors.

During the trial in Edirne on Tuesday, the two soldiers reiterated their claim that they had crossed the border by mistake and urged the court for their release, the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media, said.

The court then ordered the release of the soldiers pending trial, the source added.

Reporting by Mehmet Hatipoglu:Writing by Merve Aydogan