Greece has ratified an agreement on maritime borders with Egypt, hours after Turkey extended the operation of a seismic research vessel in the eastern Mediterranean, saying it will hold fire drills in the region next week.
The Athens-Cairo agreement is seen as a response to a Turkish-Libyan agreement signed in 2019, which gives Turkey access to areas in the region where large hydrocarbon discoveries have been discovered.
Under their treaty, Egypt and Greece can now make the most of the available resources in an exclusive economic zone, including oil and gas reserves.
A similar agreement between Italy and Greece was approved on Wednesday.
Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas said on Thursday “its ratification is urgent” given “Turkey’s illegal activities”.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told parliament that another bill would extend Greece’s coastal zone in the Ionian Sea from six (about 11 km) to 12 nautical miles (22 km) under international maritime conventions.
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Will Greece and Turkey fight over energy? |
Turkey and Greece – both NATO allies – are at loggerheads over rights to potential hydrocarbon resources in the eastern Mediterranean, based on conflicting claims over the size of their continental shelves.
Tensions escalated this month after Ankara sent the Orism Journey seismic research vessel into a disputed area following the pact between Athens and Cairo.
Turkey has said the pact is breaking into its own continental shelf. The agreement also overlaps with maritime zones that Turkey agreed with Libya last year, declared illegal by Greece.
Al Jazeera’s John Psaropoulos, reported from Athens, said “Greece got what it wanted legally and diplomatically” after the maritime agreement with Egypt.
“It has the support of Europe, it has the agreement in legal terms with Egypt, a very good agreement in legal terms with Italy,” he said.
“Greece now feels in a position of legal force to demand that Turkey agree to hold talks on the basis of international maritime law.”
However, Sinem Koseoglu, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Istanbul, said it was unlikely Turkey would “come to a negotiating table” and the Greece-Egypt deal means that “military tensions will increase” in the region.
“But will it turn into a conflict? This is still a question mark,” she said.
‘Gunnery practices’
Earlier on Thursday, the Turkish navy issued the latest advice, known as Navtex, and said it would hold “gunnery exercises” on September 1 and 2 in the eastern Mediterranean off the coast of Iskenderun, northeast of Cyprus.
It also extended the seismic work of the Oruc Cruise ship southwest of Cyprus, until 1 September.
Greece says Turkish advice is illegal.
Maritime zones provide state rights over natural resources. Much has been discovered that the Eastern Mediterranean is rich in natural gas.
As the dispute escalated, France said on Wednesday it had joined military exercises with Italy, Greece and Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean.
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said the deployment of French military aircraft in Cyprus was in violation of treaties governing the island’s control and administration of Britain’s independence in 1960.
Aksoy said the state of France dangerously encouraged Greece and Cyprus to further escalate tensions in the region.
Cyprus was divided in 1974 following a Turkish invasion triggered by a Greek-inspired coup.
Turkey recognizes the Turkish population north of Cyprus as a separate state, which is not recognized by other countries.
Greece said on Wednesday it intends to expand its territorial waters in the Ionian Sea to 12 nautical miles (22 km) off the coast, six nautical miles, following the ratification of a maritime deal with Italy.
In eastern Greece, Turkey has warned that a similar movement by Athens into waters east of Greece could be a cause for war.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
.
