Greece: Truck on parliament sidewalk checked for explosives

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A 58-year-old Greek man was arrested Monday after he drove a pickup truck onto a sidewalk in front of the the country’s parliament building and reportedly threatened police.

Bomb disposal officers checked the vehicle and one gas canister and a plastic gasoline container were removed, police officials said. They added that no flammable liquid was found in the plastic container.

Lettering in Greek visible on the side of the vehicle read “The Turks govern Greece. Proof inside.”

Following the inspection, the vehicle was towed away and the road reopened after traffic had been halted for about 30 minutes.

The incident occurred shortly before the government submitted the draft 2022 Budget to parliament.

Greece and Turkey have seen a spike in tension in recent weeks amid an ongoing dispute over sea boundaries and related oil-and-gas drilling rights in the eastern Mediterranean.