Turkey stressed that it would not waive its right to explore natural resources in the eastern Mediterranean, and sent a ship for this purpose accompanied by naval forces, while Greece confirmed the readiness of its naval fleet and requested a European meeting.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said today, Tuesday, that his country will defend its rights and the rights of the Turkish part of the island of Cyprus with regard to exploration for natural resources located within Turkey's continental shelf in the eastern Mediterranean.
He added that Greece "acted in bad faith in this matter," referring to the maritime border demarcation agreement signed by the latter with Egypt.
"We have identified new areas on the western borders of our continental shelf to work in them as of the end of this month, and we will grant the necessary licenses for all types of survey and exploration activities in them, and we have full determination in this matter, and we will defend our rights to the end," he said.
On Monday, Turkey sent a ship to conduct a seismic survey in the region, in a move Greece said was illegal and fueled tension.
Turkey said that its naval forces are accompanying the ship to provide the necessary protection for it, in light of escalating tension in the region.
The ship arrived,
and Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmaz announced on Twitter that the ship "Oruj Reis" has already arrived at the place where it will do its work in the Mediterranean, coming from its dock off Antalya.
According to a maritime notification issued by the Turkish Navy on the "Naftex" system, the ship will search from 10 to 23 August in an area located south of Turkish Antalya, western Cyprus and near the island of Crete in southern Greece.
The Turkish Defense Ministry said in a tweet on Twitter yesterday, Monday, that "the Turkish navy is accompanying the research vessel during its seismic survey, and providing it with the necessary protection."
The ministry added that Turkish forces have taken all necessary measures, and are determined to protect Turkey's rights and interests in its maritime areas of influence.
For its part, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has published a map of the area in which the ship is carrying out seismic survey work.
Summit and readiness
For his part, the Greek Prime Minister’s office announced today, Tuesday, that Athens wants to hold an urgent meeting of the European Union on Turkey, after Ankara sent a ship to explore for oil in a disputed area in the eastern Mediterranean.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will submit a request to the Council of Foreign Affairs of the European Union to hold an emergency summit," the Prime Minister’s office said.
It is noteworthy that Turkey and Greece, members of NATO, are in a dispute over the rights of each of them to oil and gas resources in the eastern Mediterranean.
Earlier, Greece accused Turkey of threatening peace in the eastern Mediterranean, after announcing it would send the drilling ship.
The Greek Foreign Ministry said at the conclusion of an emergency meeting of the Defense Affairs Council chaired by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis that Ankara's decision to send the ship constitutes a "dangerous new escalation" and "proves Turkey's destabilizing role."
The Greek government declared that "the bulk of its fleet is ready to be deployed when necessary."