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“Greedy” and “incompetent” – this is how Turkish President Erdogan called the governments of Greece and France. It is the latest continuation of the dispute between Ankara and Athens over the Aegean Sea, which has been simmering for weeks.
In the dispute over gas reserves in the Mediterranean Sea and the course of the maritime border between Turkey and Greece, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stepped up again. The political leaders of Athens and Paris are “money greedy” and “incompetent”.
“When it comes to fighting, we are ready to be martyrs,” Erdogan said in a speech. He added: “The question is: are those who rebel against us in the Mediterranean willing to make the same sacrifices?” “Do the Greek people accept the risk they are in because of their greedy and incompetent leaders?” The president asked. “Do the French people know the price they will have to pay for their greedy and incompetent leaders?”
Ankara and Athens are fighting over the recently discovered gas deposits in the eastern Mediterranean. Relations between the two countries are therefore extremely tense. Given the situation, France has increased its military presence in the eastern Mediterranean as a sign of its support for Greece.
Possible expansion of Greek territorial waters
Just on Saturday, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that if Greece expanded its territorial waters in the Aegean Sea, that would be “a reason for war.” Vice President Fuat Oktay made a similar statement: According to the state Anadolu news agency, he said: “If this is not a reason for war, what else?”
The current background was apparently an announcement by the Greek government on Wednesday. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had declared in parliament that Greece was expanding its sovereign area in the Ionian Sea from six to twelve nautical miles. However, the actual dispute between Turkey and Greece does not concern the Ionian Sea, but the Aegean Sea.
In the case of the Aegean, it is particularly explosive that there are several Greek islands that are far from mainland Greece, but directly off the coast of Turkey. The definition of maritime borders is interpreted differently by states, said maritime law expert Nele Matz-Lück in tagesschau.de-Interview explained.
