The mayor of Pendelli region, located in the northeast of capital Athens, has filed a complaint against Turkey, asking for compensation for a forest fire in 1995 which he blames on Turkish intelligence agents.

Pendelli Mayor Dimitrios Stergiou-Kapsalis, borrowing a page from the Tsipras government's book, claimed the fires were Turkey's fault and demanded 200 million euros in compensation.

The Tsipras government has demanded 276 billion euros from Germany in compensating for the suffering during the Nazi occupation of the country during World War II.

The mayor based his complaint on a 2011 interview by a former prime minister, Mesut Yılmaz, to daily Birgün. In the interview, Yılmaz claimed that the Susurluk report prepared in Parliament included all information apart from state secrets. Yılmaz described the secrets as "the coup attempt in Azerbaijan" and "the forest retaliation in Greece." The Susurluk scandal refers to a 1996 traffic accident that exposed illegal links between government officials, the mafia and intelligence services. A few days later, Yılmaz clarified in a statement that he had referred to forest fires allegedly started by Greek agents. Yılmaz said the matter was kept under wraps to prevent any damage to bilateral ties.

Stergiou-Kapsalis said he was determined to keep at the matter so that the municipality would get the funds needed to replant the forest before criticizing the government for failing to assist.