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Turkey expresses its anger at the bilateral interdisciplinary exercise between Greece and Egypt, “Medusa 10”, which will take place from Monday, November 30 to December 6, in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Specifically, Ankara, with an inaccurate and provocative statement from the Turkish Defense Ministry, accuses Greece of increasing the tension in the region, in addition to continuing its provocative stance and violations, choosing the path of third parties instead of dialogue.
At the same time, he emphasizes that Greece continues its provocative stance with three Naxtex, which were published on the same day, November 23, 2 of which overlap with training facilities, for which Turkey had also issued Navtex, which de In fact they cover islands that should be demilitarized.
Turkey’s inaccuracies don’t stop there. The Turkish Defense Ministry accuses Greece of harassing Turkish planes, which serve as auxiliary support to the NATO Naval Guard operation, at a time when they were in international airspace.
In addition, reference is made to the exercise “Medusa 10”, where in Ankara “it again showed who wants tension and who escapes peace and dialogue”, while Turkey always wants “peace, dialogue and is in favor of con spirit of good neighborliness and alliance “.
He also referred to the inspection of the Turkish ship, “Roseline A”, by the crew of the German frigate “Hamburg”, which was carried out within the framework of the operation “Irini”, where it began last Sunday and was arrested after a protest by the Turkish government. as the status of the ship’s flag, while the Ministry of Defense declares it illegal.
It also ends Operation Irini, which it describes as a skewed activity with questionable legitimacy, which violates the principle of freedom abroad and ignores the support given to Haftar’s forces in Libya.
“We would like to emphasize once again that we expect all parties, especially our allies, to act in accordance with international law and maritime law,” he said, adding that the Turkish Armed Forces continue to protect rights and interests. both Turkey and the pseudo-state of the Eastern Mediterranean, at a time when they are also a guarantee of peace and security on the island of Cyprus in accordance with international guarantees and agreements.
Navtex ends today for Oruc Reis
All this, while today, Sunday, November 29, the illegal Turkish Navtex for the Oruc Reis ends, with the prevailing scenario at this time that the ship wants to return to Turkey, at a time when the weather in both Brussels and in other European countries. Countries continue to weigh on Ankara’s continued provocative stance.
In fact, the legality -according to Turkey- of the Oruc Reis investigations was also mentioned by the Turkish Ministry of Defense, during the aforementioned announcement, where it affirms that the country continues seismic activities on its continental shelf, based on legal rights Derived from the international fair enough. 
However, indicative of the current situation is that in recent weeks there has been a slight change in the attitude of Berlin, which until recently seemed to hesitate on the issue of sanctions, but it remains to be seen if it will be reflected in actions and acts.
All this, of course, in view of the crucial Summit, during which sanctions for Ankara appear to be “cooked”. A few days before the European Summit, Athens insists on sanctions against Turkey.
In this context, and with Recep Tayyip Erdogan knowing that a possible renewal of Navtex will not be in his favor in the face of the European Union Summit, it seems that the possibility of extending the Turkish Navtex for Oruc Reis, for the moment, is eliminated . .
Of course, analysts emphasize that although the extension scenario prevails, it will be ephemeral, since the Turkish president will not want to be in Brussels for the Summit, at the moment when the Turkish ship will be in the waters of the Eastern Mediterranean. or the “Turkish continental shelf”, as Ankara has repeatedly called it.
Now, the question is what will happen to the exploratory contacts between the Foreign Ministers of Greece and Turkey. Until December 10 in Turkey the possibility of an invitation to the Greek side for dialogue is not ruled out.
Ankara still believes that there will be no serious sanctions against it.
Diplomatic chess on EU sanctions
So it all leads to the December Summit, where a difficult diplomatic bra-de-fer is expected to be played on the issue of sanctions against Turkey.
According to “To Vima” in the current situation there are two clear facts. The first element is that the situation in Euro-Turkish relations has not improved at all compared to the previous time the “27” discussed the issue, at the European Council on the first two days of October. The second element is that the immediate imposition of restrictive measures / sanctions against Ankara is not on the table at this time.
What is being considered – and it is the scenario in which Atenas is working – is the specific registration of those areas in which sanctions can be applied and the transfer to Josep Borrell, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the EU , of the written registration mandate. a relevant list of sanctions.
The duration factor
Despite the difficult situation in Europe due to the pandemic, the president of the European Council Charles Michel allegedly proposed that the meeting of the “27” be held with a physical presence in Brussels. However, it is not clear how the meeting will be organized. Under the existing schedule, the Summit is scheduled to take place December 10-11. The day before, on December 9, the EU-Africa Summit is scheduled in Brussels.
However, it cannot be ruled out that Mr Michel proposes that the European Council last only one day (December 10) so as not to prolong the stay of the leaders in the Belgian capital too much. It is clear that the shortening of the duration of the Summit will also affect the consultations on Turkey, especially since there has been no prior consensus on the Conclusions at the level of Permanent Representatives (Coreper). 
Patience runs out …
In the last few days there have been many public and behind-the-scenes contacts that will obviously peak as the Summit approaches. It is clear that patience with Turkey within the EU has evaporated even from the member states that traditionally supported it, but this does not mean that the rhetoric used by officials from these countries, such as German Foreign Minister Haiko Maas, is is fading. fixed frame of expression. After all, Ankara continued its criminal behavior in the eastern Mediterranean with the Oruc Reis seismic uprisings and proceeded to open Varos in Cyprus.
At the same time, Turkish-French relations are stagnant due to personal revenge between Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Emanuel Macron. In addition, just a few days ago there was tension between Ankara and Berlin over the incident involving a Turkish-flagged freighter “Rosaline A” by the German frigate “Hamburg” as part of Operation Irini to implement the arms embargo on Libya.
At the same time, the already difficult equation of Euro-Turkish relations is complicated by two more factors: Brussels.
“Turkey to avoid unilateral actions”
In fact, as Kathimerini reports, Serbia also joins the sanctions. The framework for these sanctions was adopted by the European Council last November. On this basis, the prohibition of the movement of people in the EU on whom these restrictive measures have been imposed and the freezing of their assets is imposed (now the scope of the measures is extended to Serbia).
It is recalled that yesterday, by an overwhelming majority (631 votes in favor, 3 against and 59 abstentions), a non-binding resolution of the European Parliament was adopted condemning the recent actions of Turkey in Varosia and calling for sanctions against Ankara.
Turkey is also asked to “reverse this decision and avoid unilateral action.”
The face of commitment
Finally, as “To Vima” is informed, Athens has been concluding for at least two weeks that Ankara would be oriented towards a tactic that would appear as a compromise ahead of the December Summit.
He had done it in the past before the Summit in early October, then decided to forward to the Oruc Reis south of Kastellorizo and Rhodes.
Even before the latest Navtex renewal for the Turkish seismograph ship, it was decided that the Greek side would not fall into the pressure trap to initiate exploratory contacts before the meeting of “27” in December.
It was in this context that Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias made a statement on Turkey’s behavior on Tuesday, November 24. The content of the statement, which was finalized after a meeting between Mr. Dendias and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis a day earlier, on Monday, November 23, was extensively discussed in a secret meeting, in a tight circle, on Saturday. November 21 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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