Greece will be held responsible for any further escalation in the eastern Mediterranean Sea as Turkey is ready to respond to any hostile actions against its vessel, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Friday
ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th August, 2020) Greece will be held responsible for any further escalation in the eastern Mediterranean Sea as Turkey is ready to respond to any hostile actions against its vessel, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Friday.
The Turkish-Greek tensions escalated this week after Turkey's Oruc Reis research vessel began exploration drilling in Greek-claimed waters in the Mediterranean on Monday. Earlier in the day, the Greek Armyvoice.gr news portal reported, citing sources, that Greek naval frigate Limnos and Turkish frigate Kemalreis (F-247) had "intercepted" each other in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The incident happened in close proximity to Oruc Reis. The area is heavily patrolled by both Turkish and Greek vessels.
"If any hostile action is taken against our vessel Oruc Reis, a response will be given. Tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean are on the rise and it is not Turkey but Greece that is responsible. The Greek side started drilling there in 2010 while we patiently waited until 2018. Now we have sent our vessel to the area for which the license was previously issued. We are always ready for negotiations, but Greece secretly signed a treaty with Egypt. This has nothing in common with good intentions," Cavusoglu said during a working visit to Switzerland, broadcast on Turkish broadcaster NTV.
He called Greece's claims over large swathes of the area in question baseless, as they are based on its exclusive economic zone demarcation of a small Greek island off the coast of Turkey and called on the European Union to check Athens.
"Greece, based on this tiny island, is trying to take over a huge area. The EU must properly assess such reckless actions of its member," Cavusoglu added.
Tensions between two NATO allies increased again earlier in August after Greece and Egypt signed a maritime deal on an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the eastern Mediterranean. Ankara then slammed the agreement as "null and void," saying that Athens and Cairo share no sea border, and claimed that the area of the EEZ was in fact located on Turkey's continental shelf. The Greece-Egypt deal prompted Turkey to resume seismic research in the eastern Mediterranean.
