Turkey’s expansion of its maritime boundaries to Mediterranean areas claimed and defended by the Greek navy has raised the danger of an armed conflict between the NATO allies, Al Jazeera reported.
Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding with the Libyan Government of National Accord on Nov. 27 that marked the two countries as maritime neighbours, allocating a large swathe of the eastern Mediterranean to Turkey, including areas close to the Greek islands of Crete and Rhodes.
Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Dönmez announced that Turkish drill ships would begin searching for hydrocarbons in the area as soon as the agreement was ratified. But since parts of that area are also claimed by Greece, this could lead to military confrontation, Al Jazeera quoted experts and officials as saying.
Two experts told the Qatari news network that the Hellenic Navy had already dispatched forces to the disputed areas southeast of Crete.
“If a Turkish drillship does show up, our ships would take action against it, and that could lead to an armed confrontation, because these ships are accompanied by naval vessels. And of course that could ultimately lead to war,” a veteran senior diplomat said on condition of anonymity.
International public law professor Angelos Syrigos, a lawmaker for Greece’s ruling New Democracy party, confirmed that Greek vessels had been dispatched to the area and said Athens had sent a firm warning to Turkey.
“There will be no Turkish drillship. It has been communicated to Turkey that we shall not tolerate any exploration in the area Greece considers to be its EEZ,” Syrigos said.
Speaking about the issue on Greece’s Skai News on Thursday, Greek Defence Minister Nikos Panayotopoulos said the military was “preparing for all eventualities” without further elaborating.
“We shall not wait for anyone to come and help us. Whatever we do, we shall do alone,” said the navy’s chief of staff, Admiral Nikos Tsounis.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/12/greece-turkey-closer-armed-conflict-experts-191205214345751.html
Content retrieved from: https://ahvalnews.com/eastern-mediterranean/turkish-expansion-leading-naval-showdown-greece-al-jazeera.