Greece condemns Turkey’s return of survey ship, refueling tensions

Athens/Istanbul, Oct. 13, (dpa/GNA) – Greece on Monday condemned the return of a Turkish gas exploration vessel to contested waters in the eastern Mediterranean and accused Ankara of “systematically undermining peace and security in the region.”

“We call on Turkey to immediately reverse its decision,” said the Foreign Ministry in Athens, adding it should “immediately cease its illegal actions.”

Turkish naval authorities said on Sunday that the ship Oruc Reis would resume seismic exploration of gas reserves south of the Greek island of Kastellorizo on Monday and remain there for 10 days.

The vessel would continue its exploration work, drill and “protect our rights,” Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez tweeted.

NATO members Turkey and Greece have long been at loggerheads over natural gas reserves and maritime boundaries, with both claiming the right to prospect and drill for energy resources in the same part of the eastern Mediterranean.

Turkey called the Oruc Reis back to port in mid-September, for what it said was maintenance work. As tensions were lowered, Ankara and Athens agreed to start direct exploratory talks, for the first time since 2016.

Greece said the return of the Oruc Reis showed Turkey was unreliable and unwilling to negotiate. Cyprus is also at odds with Turkey over its gas drilling.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry hit back, calling Greece’s claims “groundless” and “incompatible with international law.”

The Oruc Reis was operating within Turkey’s continental shelf, the ministry said, in an area that is 15 kilometres away from the Turkish coast and 425 kilometres away from the Greek mainland.

The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, also warned that the ship’s new mission could lead to new tensions and cited de-escalation efforts that were called for at a European Council summit some two weeks ago.

EU leaders had warned Turkey that sanctions were still possible should it break international law again. So far, the EU has only responded with cautious sanctions, which have hardly affected Turkey.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas announced on Monday that he would travel to Greece and Cyprus on Tuesday, but not to Turkey, contrary to earlier reports in the Turkish and Greek media.

Asked about this, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said in Berlin: “The minister has decided to travel to these two countries, and that’s what he’s doing.”

Germany has the European Union’s rotating presidency through the end of the year, and Chancellor Angela Merkel has attempted to defuse tensions in the controversy.

German government spokesman Steffen Seibert warned Turkey not to engage in further prospecting in the contested regions off Greek islands. This would be “an extremely regrettable and imprudent step” that would retard attempts to decrease tensions in the region, Seibert said.

It would also be “anything but helpful for the further development of or progress in EU-Turkish relations,” he added.

GNA