The arrests of the two Greek soldiers who are being detained in Turkey since March after accidentally crossing a borderline between the two countries were carried out on the orders of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Greece’s Defense Minister Panos Kammenos has said.

In comments made during a radio interview on Wednesday, Kammenos said the two were arrested so that they could be eventually exchanged for the eight Turkish servicemen who fled to Greece after the botched coup against Erdogan in 2016.

“I do not think this was a random act. They found an opportunity on a night with snow to put their plan into action,” Kammenos told Real FM.

Greek officials have repeatedly ruled out the possibility of a swap.