Greece deletes controversial ‘C-130’ post, issues condolence message

The Greek Air Force shared photos Thursday of its C-130 military transport aircraft on the US-based social media company X's platform with the caption "Photos of the Day!" but deleted the post within minutes following backlash.

The post drew strong reactions, as it came less than 48 hours after a Turkish Air Force C-130 transport plane crashed on the Georgia-Azerbaijan border on Nov. 11, killing 20 Turkish soldiers. Many social media users criticized Greece, saying the timing was "immoral" and "incompatible with good-neighborly relations."

Facing intense criticism, the Greek Air Force removed the post and instead published a condolence message dated Nov. 12 sent by the head of its general staff, Lt. Gen. Dimosthenis Grigoriadis, on its X account.

Grigoriadis said they received the tragic news with profound sadness, noting that no words could fully convey the scale of the loss or the grief he felt over the deaths of Turkish personnel. He stressed that they stand with Türkiye during this difficult time, and on behalf of both the Hellenic Air Force and himself, extended sincere condolences to the families of the fallen and to all members of the Turkish Air Force.

Sources from the Greek Defense Ministry told Anadolu that the controversial post had nothing to do with the crash of the Turkish C-130.

They claimed that it was simply a photo from a Greek Air Force ceremony that had been well-received and was deleted to avoid misunderstandings.