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Washington (AFP)
The main western allies of Turkey, the United States and Germany, on Tuesday reinforced their pressure on Ankara, with the aim of pushing it to stop its “provocations” in the Mediterranean, where the fragile detente with Greece already threatens to fall.
“We demand that Turkey stop this deliberate provocation and immediately launch preliminary talks with Greece,” said US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus, as the Turkish authorities again sent a gas exploration ship to a disputed region, in a measure that threatens to fuel the crisis with Athens.
“Coercion, threats, intimidation and military activities will not resolve the tensions in the eastern Mediterranean,” Ortagus said in a statement.
Washington, which “condemned” the Turkish decision, considered that the shipment of the ship “intentionally complicates the resumption of important preliminary talks between our NATO allies Greece and Turkey”, the two neighboring countries and allies in NATO, despite their historical rivalries.
Relations between Ankara and Athens have witnessed strong diplomatic and military tension since Turkey deployed on August 10 until mid-September, a seismic research vessel accompanied by warships, to begin studying the waters of the Greek islands. , an area believed to be rich in natural gas.
At the end of September, the two neighboring countries, under international pressure, agreed to initiate “exploratory talks” about their differences in the Mediterranean, opening the way to a period of detente.
The then US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, traveled to Greece, where he stressed the need to find “solutions” and expressed his “firm” support for the principle of dialogue, calling for “the resumption of talks on these issues as soon as possible.”
– ‘A big setback’ –
The Turkish Navy announced on Monday that the ship Aruj Reis will resume its activities in the region until October 22, which infuriated Greece.
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dandias condemned a “major escalation” and a “direct threat to peace and security.”
Greek State Minister George Giraptrit also said Tuesday that “Greece will not participate in any conversation while Reis and the ships accompanying him are in place.”
In Europe, the Turkish measure called for a new measure, while Ankara remains under the threat of sanctions from the 27 countries of the European Union.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who visited Greece and Cyprus on Tuesday to discuss these developments, said in a statement: “If new Turkish gas exploration operations are carried out in the disputed maritime areas in the eastern Mediterranean , this would be a major setback for de-escalation efforts. “
“Ankara should end the cycle of appeasement and provocation if the government is interested in holding talks, as it has confirmed more than once,” the minister said.
Germany also asked “not to close the window of dialogue that has just opened with Greece due to unilateral movements.”
Germany assumes the international presidency of the European Union, which meets on Thursday and Friday at a summit in Brussels, which is supposed to discuss in particular the tensions between Athens and Ankara.
Ankara decided to send its ship to a disputed region just days after a previous European summit, during which it threatened to impose sanctions on Turkey.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, warned that “if Ankara continues its illegal activities, we will use the means at our disposal.”
He said economic sanctions had been prepared and ready to be “implemented immediately.”
© 2020 AFP
