[ad_1]
Source: Dubai-Arabia.net
After the failure of NATO mediation to reduce the escalation of the eastern Mediterranean, especially between Ankara, Greece and Cyprus, Turkey announced on Saturday that it would launch military exercises on Sunday in the eastern Mediterranean in cooperation with “Northern Cyprus.”
The Turkish Defense Ministry confirmed in a statement that the exercises, dubbed “Mediterranean Storm”, would continue from 6 to 10 September in northern Cyprus.
Turkish air, land and naval forces and the forces of the Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is not recognized by any country in the world except Turkey, will participate in these exercises, which are organized annually.
Turkey also made it clear that the “Mediterranean storm” aims to “develop mutual training and cooperation between the forces of the two countries. These maneuvers come immediately after the escalation in the eastern Mediterranean between Turkey, Greece and Cyprus for rights. oil tankers in dispute. “
Crux of the problem
Commenting on these developments, economic analyst Violet Bala ‘considered that the scenario is disturbing in the Eastern Mediterranean, especially since the hydrocarbon discoveries estimated at 345 trillion cubic meters of gas and some 1.5 billion barrels of oil, which still they are submerged in the depths of the sea, they may no longer be owned by the peoples. The countries of “the new source of tension left by the military maneuvers and the routes of the exploration and exploration ships in search of the richness of the intertwined waters, according to the maps of the demarcation of the EEZ unilaterally and bilaterally. This It may be the essence of the problem that has whetted the appetite of the Eastern Mediterranean governments to exploit energy sources capable of stimulating their ailing economies before the Corona pandemic. “
Ankara pressure
He also pointed out that the “Mediterranean storm” maneuvers launched by Turkey are part of a series of pressures exerted by Ankara to push Athena to the negotiating table naked from the roles of a force that secured her with clear European support, and the he marked with the United Nations card that he could press to lift his obscurity of Turkish aggression in the sovereignty of its waters, thus abandoning the NATO dialogue to which Ankara wanted to attract him.
Furthermore, he saw that Turkey resorted to a policy of show of force to impose its negotiating conditions on Greece and Cyprus and their successors, namely the European Union, and did not expect Athens to impose corresponding conditions on any negotiations between them: how to stop provocations posed by Turkey’s sea, air and land maneuvers, as well as stopping Threat Language before any conversation to reduce tension in the eastern Mediterranean.
“No dialogue under threat”
On Friday, Ankara accused Athens of refusing dialogue and lying, after Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Turkey should stop its “threats” before holding NATO-sponsored talks to reduce tension in the eastern Mediterranean.
And NATO allies Greece and Turkey have entered a tense confrontation for weeks in the eastern Mediterranean region, where Turkey is conducting exploration of energy reserves on the seabed in an area that Greece claims is within of its continental shelf.
Ankara claims it has every right to explore and prospect there, accusing Greece of trying to seize an unfair share of the marine resources.
Those operations prompted Greece to put the armed forces on alert, stressing that “the reduction will not occur unless all Turkish ships withdraw from the Greek continental shelf.”
Whereas, a German mediation last week to slow the escalation between the two sides and foster dialogue failed, just as it thwarted NATO’s attempt on Friday.
[ad_2]