In the Eastern Mediterranean, Greece faces a casus belli, a threat of war if it exercises its sovereign rights. Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said this in a statement late Thursday, after a meeting with his American counterpart Anthony Blinken. Daily Sabah.
“I must say that Greece is facing daily provocations. Greece is committed to resolving disputes through diplomacy and always in accordance with international law, “Dendias added.
Earlier, Greece extended its defense agreement with the United States days after ratifying a separate deal with France amid high tensions with Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean. The agreement, signed in Washington, marks a deepening of US relations with a longtime European ally, despite the growing focus of US President Joe Biden’s administration on Asia.
Signing the agreement, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called Greece a “strong and reliable ally” and stressed the help of Greek troops in Afghanistan.
At the same time, tensions are rising over disputed waters between Greeks and Turks in the eastern Mediterranean after months of relative calm. Last week, sources in the Greek Cypriot administration, quoted by local media, rejected Ankara’s calls to stop research on a research ship south of the divided island. The Nautical Geo spacecraft began an ultrasound examination of the seabed south of the port city of Limassol last week.
The command of the Turkish navy then repulsed the research ship when it entered the waters claimed by Turkey. Turkey has sent drilling ships with military escorts to explore the continental shelf, stressing that it and the so-called The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) has rights in the region. To reduce tensions, Turkey has called for dialogue to ensure “fair sharing of resources in the region”.
Another concern for the leadership in Ankara is the large increase in the Greek army in recent years. Although it has said it has no plans to compete in arms with its NATO neighbor and ally, Turkey, Greece recently announced the purchase of three new Belhara frigates from France with the possibility of another.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu recently said that Greece’s intention is not to conduct research in the Eastern Mediterranean, but instead to disrupt Turkey’s continental shelf.
Reiterating that all necessary precautions have been taken to prevent violations of Turkey’s continental shelf, Cavusoglu said: “Most recently, Greece wanted to do research and partially disrupt our continental shelf, even just 1 kilometer away. Their intention is not to do research on this 1 kilometer, but to disrupt our continental shelf. “
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