State Department welcomes soldiers' return from Turkey

The US State Department has welcomed the return of the two Greek soldiers to Greece after five months’ imprisonment in Turkey, congratulating the Greek people and the foreign ministry.

In a tweet posted early on Thursday, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said “We welcome the news of the long-awaited homecoming for Greek soldiers Dimitris Kouklatzis and Angelos Mitretodis. Congratulations to the people of #Greece and @GreeceMFA.”

We welcome the news of the long-awaited homecoming for Greek soldiers Dimitris Kouklatzis and Angelos Mitretodis. Congratulations to the people of #Greece and @GreeceMFA.

— Heather Nauert (@statedeptspox) August 15, 2018

On Wednesday, Geoffrey Pyatt, US ambassador to Greece, also tweeted his congratulations to the Greek Foreign Ministry upon the release of two soldiers.

The soldiers – 2nd Lieutenant Angelos Mitretodis and Sergeant Dimitris Kouklatzis – were arrested on March 1 for illegally entering Turkey after crossing the heavily militarized land border. Greece strongly protested their long detention in the western town of Edirne, arguing that they had strayed across during a patrol of a trail of suspected illegal immigration amid poor visibility due to bad weather.