Turkey has warned Greece of retaliation against any attack on its research vessel in the eastern Mediterranean and accused France of acting as a bully amid escalating tensions in the energy-rich region.
Speaking to reporters after Friday’s prayers in Istanbul, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said one of the warships accompanying the exploratory Oruc Cruise ship, the Kemal Reis, had “given the necessary response” to an attack on Thursday.
“If this continues, they will get their response in kind,” he said, without indicating which ships of the nation attacked the attack. “We can not leave even the slightest attack unanswered.”
Turkey and Greece are strongly in doubt about the overlap of claims on hydrocarbon resources in the increasingly volatile region.
Tensions rose on Monday after Ankara began reconnaissance operations in a disputed area of the Mediterranean Sea by sending a seismic vessel accompanied by a small navy in the region.
Greece responded by sending out its own military possessions, which resulted in a light collision of Greek and Turkish warships during the standoff on Wednesday.
Greek defense sources said it was an accident, but Turkey called it a provocation.
Turkey’s warning to Greece came as European Union foreign ministers met on Friday to tackle the emerging crisis, which has angered Ankara against its troubled ally NATO and the entire EU bloc.
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Project Force: Battle for resources in the eastern Mediterranean |
Tensions with France
Meanwhile, France also announced on Thursday that it was “temporarily strengthening” its military presence in the eastern Mediterranean in support of Greece.
The decision to send reinforcements only added to tensions between Paris and Ankara – albeit high because of opposing approaches to the Libyan conflict and other parts of the Middle East – and saw diplomatic rhetoric rise another notch.
“France must first and foremost take steps that will increase tensions,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said during a visit to Switzerland on Friday.
“They will not get a place by acting like bullying, or in Libya, northeastern Syria, in Iraq or the Mediterranean.”
Cavusoglu denied that Turkey was looking for a peaceful solution to the crisis and expected only “common sense” from Greece.
“Obviously we do not want to escalate, but Greece needs to act with common sense,” Cavusoglu said. “We are always on the side of peaceful dialogue.”
EU ministers meet on crisis
At its meeting, EU foreign ministers are widely expected to reaffirm their support for Greece’s interpretation of maritime borders and urge all parties to respect international law.
But Turkey says Greece is using its control over a few small islands off the coast of Turkey to claim a large part of the Mediterranean Sea.
Germany has taken a leading role in trying to mediate the dispute. Erdogan had followed in the footsteps of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and suspended the Oruc Travel mission last month to give talks another chance.
Greece then signed a maritime agreement with Egypt that appeared to be aimed at counteracting a similar deal that Turkey had signed last year with the United Nations-recognized government in Libya.
The Egyptian deal was quickly followed by Erdogan’s decision to step forward with the Oruc Travel mission this week.
“These tensions are worrying,” Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert said on Friday. “What is important is de-escalation” and for countries “to talk to each other directly”.
On Thursday, Erdogan said he had agreed with Merkel to “develop a process of protective understanding” with Greece.
“Merkel has, after talking to me, spoken [Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis]. I hope she has drawn the line against him who has been discussed with us. “
Chronis Kapalidis, a security expert at the UK’s think tank, Chatham House, told Al Jazeera that Greece had expressed its willingness to sit at the table, but warned that talks would be compromised if the two peoples continued. with its military build-up in the volatile region.
“You can not have a diplomatic discussion while you have naval vessels facing each other in a small geographical area,” Kapalidis said.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
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