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Source: Arabia.net, Reuters
A Greek government spokesman said Tuesday that his country will not participate in exploratory talks with Turkey as long as the Turkish exploration ship “Uruç Reis” remains in the waters off the Greek continental shelf, while Germany asked Ankara to stop the “provocation” in the eastern Mediterranean.
“We will not make exploratory contacts with Turkey while Oroch Reis remains in the region,” spokesman Stelios Petsas told Sky Radio.
Greece said Monday that Ankara’s decision to send the ship to an area near the Greek island of Kastelorizo, off the Turkish coast, represents a “major escalation” and a “direct threat to peace in the region.”
Turkey withdrew the ship from disputed waters in the eastern Mediterranean last month to “make room for diplomacy” before a European Union summit discussed imposing sanctions on Turkey.
However, Greek media confirmed on Tuesday that the Turkish exploration vessel had entered the Greek continental shelf.
Expressive
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas
This comes as German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Turkey should stop provoking the gas dispute in the eastern Mediterranean, adding that Germany stands in solidarity with Cyprus and Greece as partners of the European Union.
But he urged Turkey to remain open to talks and not to resume gas exploration in disputed maritime areas.
“If the new Turkish gas exploration operations really take place in the disputed maritime areas in the eastern Mediterranean, this will be a major setback for de-escalation efforts,” said Maas, who will visit Greece and Cyprus on Tuesday to discuss this matter.
Expressive
“Ankara must end the cycle of appeasement and provocation if the government is interested in holding talks,” said Maas, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European Union.
On Monday, a Turkish ship set sail for seismic surveys in the eastern Mediterranean, prompting Greece to demand new European Union sanctions against Ankara in a dispute over offshore exploration rights.
On Monday, the European Union condemned the tension caused by Ankara’s decision to send an exploration ship back to Greek waters and decided to discuss the issue at the European summit, scheduled for Thursday and Friday in Brussels.
The European Union Minister of Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, announced at the conclusion of a meeting with the EU Foreign Ministers in Luxembourg that the new mission of the seismic research vessel Uruk Reis “will be debated by European leaders during their next summit”.
He also considered that “the recent decisions taken by Ankara are regrettable and will generate new tensions instead of reducing the escalation that we demanded during the recent European summit.”
But there is no consensus among European foreign ministers on the next steps to take.
For her part, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, warned that “if Ankara continues with its illegal activities, we will use the means at our disposal.”
He said economic sanctions had been prepared and ready to be “implemented immediately.”
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