With a little persuasion from the US the military crisis between Turkey and Greece over two rocks in the Aegean Sea is over. Both sides withdrew troops and took away their flags in the early ay morning. What is left now is diplomatic negotiation to settle the matter of ownership of the Kardak rocks, and also the ownership of many more similar islets in the region. Diplomatic circles say that Greece has now to respond to the calls for dialogue made by Turkey.
Turkish officials see the withdrawal as a climb down by the Greeks and as a victory for Turkey.
President Clinton said yesterday that he was happy that the crisis was over, and that it had been resolved through dip- lomatic channels rather than resorting to military means. As the situation clarified, President Suleyman Demirel declared that he was glad commonsense had prevailed and he thanked all those concerned for acting with caution and sensitivity. Ciller also thanked everyone for staying cool at a time when issues were growing hotter by the minute. Once negotiations over the ownership of the islands have begun, the way will be open for other issues concerning the Aegean Sea to be taken up. Foreign Ministry spokesman Omer Akbel said yes- terday that so far no reply had been forthcoming from Athens about opening up talks.