Greek armed forces on high alert as Turkish research vessel reaches disputed waters in East Med

Greece was placed on high alert on Monday after
Turkey's seismic exploration ship “Oruç Reis” arrived in its area of operation
in a bloc territorially disputed with Greece, a move which Athens described as
a threat to peace and stability in the region.
Units of Greek navy and air force deployed in the
wider sea area where the Turkish research was expected, Greek newspaper
Kathimerini said.
When the Oruç Reis, accompanied by Turkish naval
ships, entered the Greek continental shelf, Greek warships sent messages at a
frequency of about 15 minutes requesting the vessel’s removal from the area, it
said.
Turkey's move prompted Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos
Mitsotakis to convene the government’s national security council on Monday, and
Athens issued a maritime safety message, known as Navtex, which called Ankara's
actions “unauthorised and illegal activity in an area that overlaps the Greek
continental shelf”.
Çağatay Erciyes, a
senior Turkish Foreign Ministry official in charge of maritime and aviation
boundary affairs, said Turkey’s position in Eastern Mediterranean maritime
jurisdiction is supported by international courts and state practice.
Attached images on Erciyes' Twitter account on
Monday stated that claims based on Greece’s 10-km2 island of Kastellorizo,
which is 570 kilometres away from the Greek mainland, is “against the principle
of equity, international law and jurisprudence.”
The latest dispute revolves around the small island
2 km from Turkey’s southern coastline that became a flashpoint between Greek
and Turkish naval forces last month.
The two countries reached the brink of an armed
confrontation at the end of July after Ankara’s decision to send the Oruç Reis
escorted by warships to Kastellorizo to conduct oil and gas exploration. Ankara
later said it would pause exploration and drilling for hydrocarbons in the
Eastern Mediterranean for a month to reduce tensions with Greece and the
European Union.
On Friday, however, Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdoğan
announced his country would resume exploration in territory disputed with
Athens, a day after Greece and Egypt signed a maritime deal that sets the sea
boundary between the two countries and demarcates an exclusive economic zone
for oil and gas drilling rights.
Erdoğan claimed the
Greek-Egyptian deal was a response to a maritime agreement Turkey made with
Libya’s Tripoli-based
Government of National Accord (GNA) in November.
Greece’s “maximalist claim” is not compatible with
international law, however the country asks the European Union and the United
States to support its position and apply pressure to Turkey to “cease its
legitimate offshore activities”, the posted script on Erciyes’ tweet read.
“This is not acceptable and reasonable.”
It also stated that Turkey should receive more
maritime jurisdiction area since it has the longest coastline in the Eastern
Mediterranean.
The developments are the latest in an ongoing
territorial spat between Turkey, Greece and Cyprus over offshore energy
resources. Greece and Cyprus say that islands have their own continental
shelves granting them extensive exploration rights, a claim Turkey contests.
Ankara, which does not recognise Cyprus as a state,
claims half of the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) on behalf of the
breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and has repeatedly carried out
warship-escorted offshore drilling in the territory.
Turkey also maintains that seismic research and
drilling operations in contested waters are legitimate under its maritime
agreement with the GNA.
Athens turning Europe into
‘Greek theatre’ - ruling AKP spokesman
Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP)
Spokesman Ömer Çelik criticised Greece for calling an extraordinary meeting of
the EU Foreign Affairs Council over the latest developments in the eastern
Mediterranean, saying the EU should not allow Athens to turn whole of Europe
into "Greek theatre.’’
"Greece has, as it always does, called on the
EU for a meeting to support its unjust, lawless and aggressive policies,’’ T24
news site quoted Çelik as saying.
EU says eastern Mediterranean
developments ‘extremely worrying’
The latest developments in the Eastern Mediterranean
are “extremely worrying” and must be solved through dialogue, European Union spokesman Peter Stano Stona
said on Tuesday.
"What is needed to be done is to engage in
solving all the open issues in line with principles of good neighbourly
relations, international law, and positive engagement," state-run Anadolu
news agency quoted the European Commission spokesman as saying in a news
conference.
Responding to Greece’s call on Tuesday for an
extraordinary meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council on the latest
developments, Stano said a decision would be reached soon following
consultations among the member states.
The EU spokesman also said Ankara’s actions would
also be discussed at an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Berlin
later this month.
Greek coast guard opens fire
on private boat in Aegean Sea, three injured
Greece’s coast guard on Tuesday opened fire on a
privately owned boat off the Greek island Rhodes, injuring three people,
Habertürk news outlet reported.
The Turkish coast guard rescued the two Turkish and
one Syrian nationals who were on board the American-flagged motorised vessel in
Greek territorial waters off of Turkey’s southwestern Muğla
province. One of the Turkish nationals is in critical condition, it said.
The injured were hospitalised in the western town of
Marmaris, where prosecutors have launched an investigation into the incident,
Habertürk said.
Greek main opposition leader
calls on Athens to prevent Turkish drilling
Greece’s main opposition leader Alexis Tsipras
called on the government to prevent Turkey’s research ship Oruç Reis from
surveying for hydrocarbons in the Eastern Mediterranean, Kathimerini reported
on Tuesday.
He expressed confidence in the Greek military’s
ability to stop the vessel escorted by at least five Turkish warships south of
Turkey.
“The way in which these illegal seismic activities
must and can be prevented is known to our Armed Forces since October 2018, when
they attempted it effectively. We have full confidence in their abilities,”
Kathimerini said, citing Tsipras, head of the left-wing Syriza party.
Tsipras was referring to another navy-escorted
Turkish research vessel, the Barbaros, which conducted oil and gas exploration
on a segment of the Greek continental shelf. A Greek frigate attempted to
harass the Barbaros, however it was prevented from doing so by Turkish warships
escorting survey vessel, according to Turkey.
Tsipras said he asked Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos
Mitsotakis over the phone on Tuesday to “stop leaking unsubstantiated
arguments”, such as the Oruç Reis’ exploratory activities were hindered by too
many ships in its proximity.
“What concerns us is not the quality of Turkish
exploratory activities, but the fact that Oruç Reis violates the sovereign
rights of our homeland,” he said.
Greece to call for EU
emergency foreign affairs meeting
Greece will call for an emergency meeting of the
European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council, Kathimerini reported on Tuesday.
The decision was announced after a meeting between
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, the
Greek newspaper said.
Greek foreign minister
discusses East Med tensions with U.S. envoy
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias and U.S.
ambassador to Athens Geoffrey Pyatt discussed tensions in the Eastern
Mediterranean after Ankara sent a seismic research vessel into an area disputed
between Turkey and Greece.
The two officials discussed “Turkish illegal activities”
in the region, Dendias said on his official Twitter account on Tuesday.
On July 28, Turkey issued a navigational telex, or
Navtex, to reserve parts of the Eastern Mediterranean, some of which overlaps
with Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), to continue its oil and gas
exploration activities, according to Greek newspaper Kathimerini.
Turkey will defend its rights
in the Eastern Mediterranean - foreign minister
Turkey will not compromise in defending its rights
in the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu
said on Tuesday.
“We will defend the rights of both Turkey and the
Turkish Cypriots in the Eastern Mediterranean, to the fullest. We will not
compromise on this,” reported state-run Anadolu news agency, citing Turkey’s
top diplomat during a joint press conference with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister
Ceyhun Bayramov.
Turkey will issue seismic exploration and drilling
licenses in the western boundaries of the country’s continental shelf by the
end of August and continue its operations in the Eastern Mediterranean, Çavuşoğlu
said.
Cyprus, Greece and France to
conduct military exercises
Cyprus, Greece and France were expected to conduct
military exercises on Tuesday morning, said Iranian aviation journalist Babak
Taghvaee on Monday.
“Tomorrow morning, Cypriot National Guard will hold
a joint exercise with Greece and France in Cyprus to increase level of
interoperability among their forces in case of Turkey's invasion,” Taghvaee
said on Twitter.
He added that two French Rafale fighter jets and
F-16 warplanes from the Greek air force will take part in the exercises.
Three French military aircraft
land in Cyprus
Three French military aircraft landed in Cyprus said
Greek journalist Andreas Mountzouroulias on Tuesday.
“French Rafale fighter jets and a French Air Force
C-130 transport aircraft landed at Andreas Papandreou Air Base in Paphos,”
Mountzouroulias said on Twitter.
“The aircraft will stay for a few days in Cyprus and
will fly over the island,” he said.
France and Cyprus signed a two-year defence
cooperation which came into effect on Aug. 1 and covers maritime security
cooperation, energy, crisis management and counter-terrorism between the two
countries.
France has been openly vocal in criticising Turkey’s
policies in the Eastern Mediterranean – including its territorial dispute with
Greece and its military involvement in Libya’s civil war, where Ankara and
Paris back opposite sides of the conflict.
Turkish Defence Ministry releases images of Oruç
Reis escorted by naval units
Turkey’s Defence Ministry released pictures on
Monday of research vessel Oruç Reis escorted by five Turkish naval units.
“The Turkish Armed Forces have taken all necessary
measures… to protect our rights and interests under international law in the
maritime zones under our jurisdiction,” the ministry said in a statement.