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3 hours ago
Last Updated: October 13, 2020 3:38 PM
Turkish main ship Oruç
Greece announced on Tuesday that it will not participate in any meeting or conversation until after Ankara retracts its decision to send a seismic survey vessel to the eastern Mediterranean region.
A Greek government spokesman said his country will not participate in exploratory talks with Turkey as long as the Turkish exploration ship Oroç remains in the waters off Greece’s continental shelf.
“We will not make exploratory contacts with Turkey as long as Oroch remains president in the region,” spokesman Stelios Petsas told Sky Radio.
Greece said on 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.” .
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.
Turkey withdrew the ship from disputed waters in the eastern Mediterranean last month, “to allow diplomacy” ahead of an EU summit that discussed imposing sanctions on Turkey.
The Union said during the summit: It may impose sanctions on Turkey in December at the earliest if Ankara continues its operations in the region.
