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Istanbul (AFP)

A Turkish court on Tuesday ordered the release of two Greek soldiers detained since March on espionage charges for illegally crossing the border, in a case that has added to tensions between Athens and Ankara.

The court in the northern Edirne region ruled that the two soldiers would now be tried without being held in detention, the state-run Anadolu news agency said. It was not immediately clear if they would be able to return home to Greece.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras immediately welcomed the move as an "act of justice".

Their release will "contribute to a reinforcement of friendship, good neighbourliness, and stability in the region," he said in a statement.

The case of the two soldiers had added to a long list of troubles between Turkey and Greece which, though both NATO members since 1952, still have tense relations.

The European Union had also backed member state Greece in the dispute, condemning the detention of the soldiers and calling for their release.

The release order for the two men -- which was wholly unexpected -- comes as Turkey is engulfed in a bitter dispute with its NATO ally the United States which has seen the Turkish lira plunge to record lows.

The soldiers, Lieutenant Aggelos Mitretodis and Sergeant Dimitros Kouklatzis, told prosecutors shortly after their arrest that they mistakenly crossed the border after getting lost in the fog.

But they were charged with "attempted military espionage" by prosecutors as well as entering a forbidden military zone.

The prosecution said the pair testified they entered the Turkish side by tracking footsteps in the snow and filmed images on their mobile phones to send to higher ranking officials.

Courts had until now repeatedly turned down requests from their lawyers for the release of the pair.

Athens and Ankara have also clashed over Turkish demands that Greece extradite eight Turkish troops wanted over the July 2016 attempted coup aimed at unseating President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

© 2018 AFP