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Of: TT
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Photo: Burhan Ozbilici / AP / TT
The Turkish research vessel Oruç Reis, here in a September image.
Turkey is again sending a ship to continue the controversial search for gas deposits in the eastern Mediterranean.
The announcement is expected to heighten tensions between the NATO countries, Turkey and Greece.
The Turkish research vessel Oruç Reis will conduct seismic surveys south of the Greek island of Kastellorizo over the next ten days. This is what the Turkish Navy affirms.
The news comes after a week in which tensions between the countries appeared to ease slightly after the countries’ foreign ministers met for the first time since the conflict escalated. The two, Mevlüt Cavusoglu from Turkey and Nikos Dendias from Greece, agreed at an international meeting in Slovakia to hold bilateral talks on the matter.
Military exercises
At the time, tensions had risen in recent months to levels that observers consider dangerous due to increasingly acute disagreements over demarcations and offshore gas deposits. In August, both Greece and Turkey conducted military exercises in the waters between Cyprus and Crete.
In September, Turkey withdrew Oruç Reis from the disputed waters southwest of Cyprus where it had been searching for oil and gas, which was also seen as a sign that the conflict had begun to subside.
In recent years, large gas reserves have been discovered offshore Cyprus. It has brought together the internationally recognized governments of Cyprus, Greece, Israel and Egypt to make the most of resources. As part of the agreement, there is a plan for a gas pipeline to Europe, from which Turkey has been left out.
Threat of EU sanctions
Last year, Turkey increased drilling offshore west of Cyprus. Turkey believes that the island’s resources should be shared and seeks to protect its own interests and those of the Turkish Cypriots in the gas deposits.
In early October, EU leaders threatened to impose sanctions on Turkey if the country did not stop exploring and toning down its rhetoric on the conflict. According to the Turkish TV channel TRT, German Chancellor Heiko Maas will visit Ankara on Wednesday and discuss the infected issue, among other things.
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