Greece Files Complaint With Serbia Over Downed Aircraft Full of Weapons

The Greek government has filed a complaint with Serbia over a lack of information regarding the weapons being transported by a Ukrainian cargo plane that crashed over the weekend in northern Greece.

The Greek government launched a formal complaint on Monday, claiming that it was not informed by Serbia of the weapons that were on board the Ukrainian-operated An-12 cargo plane, which crashed outside of Kavala on Saturday, killing all eight crew members aboard, who are said to all be Ukrainian nationals.

“The Greek ambassador in Belgrade has been instructed to make a complaint to the Serbian [government] to stress the need for Greek authorities to be notified in advance about the nature of the cargo,” a Greek official said, newspaper Ekathimerini reports.

The cargo plane is alleged to have been carrying as much as 11.5 tons of mortar ammunition that had been manufactured in Serbia to its final destination in Bangladesh.

Since the crash, experts have been combing the area around the crash but have so far not reported any dangerous substances. The exact cause of the crash is still under investigation but just minutes before the crash, the pilot of the cargo plane reported engine troubles and reported that he needed to make an emergency landing.

Serbian Defense Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic commented on the incident on Sunday saying, “These were illuminating mortar mines and training (mines). … This flight had all necessary permissions in accordance with international regulations,” and confirmed the deaths of the eight crew members.

The Greek Foreign Ministry has also contacted the Ukrainian ambassador to Greece over the issue a the country also did not relay to Greece the nature of the cargo on board the aircraft.

Opposition parties in Greece have criticised the government and claimed the government has not provided enough information regarding the cargo and has demanded a more thorough investigation of the crash.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.