The Yavuz has been operating near Cyprus since last July, this year moving to the southwest of the island. Disputes over mining exploration between Turkey, on the one hand, and Greece and Cyprus, on the other, have also been resolved at the level of the North Atlantic Alliance, both of which are members of NATO.
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Greece and Turkey agreed last week on a mechanism to prevent incidents between military vessels and aircraft as both countries undertook maneuvers in the region. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg is scheduled to meet in Turkey on Monday, and he will then move to Greece.
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The dispute was also resolved by the European Union, which announced on Friday that if Turkey did not end its activities in the disputed waters of the Mediterranean, it was ready to sanction. Cyprus made its consent to the imposition of sanctions on Belarus conditional on sanctions for Turkey if it did not stop the survey.
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The departure of the ship was welcomed by both the European Union and Nicosia. The European Commission called it “another welcome step towards de-escalation in the Eastern Mediterranean,” said Cyprus Mail. However, Cypriot government spokesman Kyriakos Kushos added that he would wait for further developments. He pointed out that another Turkish research ship Barbados, which is monitoring seismic events, remains with Famagusta.
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Tensions in the eastern Mediterranean have been rising since the August frigate of a Greek frigate with a Turkish warship near a Turkish reconnaissance ship. It did not subside until Turkey and Greece agreed in September to resume talks on mining disputes. These negotiations have been suspended since 2016. The Yavuz’s continued activity has contributed to the tension.
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Tensions have been rising since the end of last year, when Turkey agreed with the internationally recognized government in Libya, which it supports militarily, to redraw the maritime borders in the Eastern Mediterranean at the expense of Greece, Cyprus and Egypt. No one accepted the new form of exclusive economic zones neglecting the zones around the islands.
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