MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd July, 2020) Moscow is concerned about the situation in the eastern Mediterranean between Greece and Turkey, calling for restraint, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.
On Tuesday, the Antalya hydrographic service issued a Navtex message about seismic surveys to the south and east of the Greek island of Kastellorizo, which is in the middle of a territorial dispute between the two countries, from July 21 - August 2. Ankara said that the Oruc Reis research vessel would be operating in that area. Fifteen military ships were deployed there as well, causing Greece to put its armed forces on high alert.
"We are carefully [and] anxiously observing yet another increase in tensions in the eastern Mediterranean. We are advocating settling the differences through negotiations, on the basis of commonly recognized norms of international law," Zakharova said when asked about Moscow's opinion on Turkey's actions based on maritime borders memorandum with Libya's Government of National Accord.
She has noted that Russia urges to "refrain from ill-conceived actions" and solve emerging issues within the United Nations framework.
Ankara and Tripoli signed the memorandum on maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean Sea on November 28. Greece, Cyprus, and Egypt were outraged by the move and said the pact infringed upon their sovereignty rights.
