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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey will give Greece and Cyprus “the answer they deserve” in the eastern Mediterranean, coinciding with Ankara’s announcement that the exploration ship Aruj Reis has arrived at the place where it will perform its duties.
During his speech to the AKP parliamentary bloc in Ankara on Wednesday, he said: “We will continue to give Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration # 0236 the response they deserve on the ground,” accusing the two countries of failing to deliver on their promises in the talks.
Erdogan added that there is a second ship that will go to explore the eastern Mediterranean, and said Ankara has defended its rights and ensured that no plans with the exception of Turkey will be implemented in the eastern Mediterranean.
He also said: “We will announce, during a visit that I will make to the Al-Fateh ship to explore in the Black Sea next Saturday, the amount of new gas discovered.”
The Turkish president announced in mid-August that the Al-Fateh ship had discovered the largest natural gas field in the country’s history in the Black Sea, which could open the door to the discovery of other fields in the region.
Mission ship
In a videoconference during the International Energy and Environment Exhibition and Conference, Turkey’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Fatih Donmez, said: “Aruj Reyes has arrived in the region where it will carry out its activities in the Eastern Mediterranean. The experiments began and we began to receive the first seismic readings. “Related to the seismic survey readings.
The minister added that the plan includes working for a period of 10 days, considering that oil and gas exploration in the seas is one of the most important points on Turkey’s agenda, highlighting that these activities continue despite all threats. .
Turkey had announced that the ship was sailing south from Antalya to resume exploration work in a Mediterranean marine area near its coast.
Diplomatic responses
On the other hand, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said – during a press conference with his Iraqi counterpart – that his country condemned Turkish activities in the Mediterranean, saying it was a violation of the Charter and the laws of the United Nations.
Greece had announced that it would not participate in exploratory talks with Turkey on reducing escalation in the eastern Mediterranean, if the ship continued in operation.
Yesterday, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said during his visit to Greece and Cyprus that Turkey’s resumption of exploration represents a violation of German efforts to reduce escalation, while his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, asked the European Union to abandon what he called double standards.
Yesterday, the United States criticized Turkey’s decision to return the ship, accusing it of unilaterally stoking the tension and “intentionally” complicating the resumption of talks with Greece.
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