Greece says no talks with Turkey unless Ankara withdraws vessel
Athens, Greece - Greece will not hold talks with Turkey on defusing tension in the eastern Mediterranean unless Ankara withdraws an energy research ship from contested areas, a senior minister said on Tuesday.
A dispute over gas exploration saw the two NATO countries stage rival military drills in August in strategic waters between Cyprus and the Greek island of Crete.
The Turkish navy said the Oruc Reis ship will restart activities in the region, including the south of Kastellorizo, until October 22 in a message sent to the maritime alert system NAVTEX late on Sunday.
“(Greece) will not sit at the table for exploratory talks while the Oruc Reis and escorting warships are out there,” Minister of State George Gerapetritis told Parapolitika radio.
He said Athens would ‘emphatically’ raise the dispute at a European council meeting starting on Thursday.
Oruc Reis
Greece’s government is expected to discuss the issue with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas who is visiting later on
Tuesday.
Greece claims rights over the waters around its island of Kastellorizo but Turkey says the island’s close proximity to its longer coastline makes the territory a legitimate area for its vessels to explore.
Ankara first deployed the Oruc Reis and warships to disputed waters on August 10 and extended the mission, ignoring repeated calls to stop by Greece and the European Union.
The announcement has dashed hopes raised when Turkey and Greece agreed to exploratory talks last month following diplomatic efforts led by Germany to defuse the crisis.
The talks had been stalled since 2016 and the expectation was for their resumption in Istanbul but no exact date was given.
Berlin warns Turkey
Germany on Tuesday called on Turkey to end a ‘cycle of detente and provocation’ in the
Mediterranean, after Ankara’s decision to redeploy the research ship.
“If there should be renewed Turkish gas exploration in the more controversial sea areas in the eastern Mediterranean, this would be a serious setback for efforts to de-escalate,” Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said ahead of a trip to Cyprus and Greece.
“Ankara must end the cycle of detente and provocation if the government is interested in talks,” said Maas, whose country heads the rotating presidency of the European Union.
Maas said he assured EU partners Greece and Cyprus had Germany’s ‘full solidarity’ and urged Turkey to ensure that dialogue with Greece was not thwarted by ‘unilateral measures’.
Discussions on the escalating situation could take place at the EU summit starting Thursday this week.