Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that "any attack targeting Turkish seismic search ships in the Mediterranean will not pass without a response."
In a speech in Ankara, Erdogan added, without giving details, "We said that if you attack the (Arrog President) ship, you will pay a heavy price, and the first message has arrived."
In a related context, a Greek defense source said that a light collision occurred between a Greek warship and a Turkish one last Wednesday, during a confrontation in the eastern Mediterranean, describing what happened as an "accident."
In statements to Reuters, the source explained that the Turkish survey ship was moving between Cyprus and the Greek island of Crete, near a number of Greek frigates last Wednesday, and one of these frigates approached it, the Lemnos frigate, and then it intersected with the path of one of the Turkish naval escort ships, Kamal Rais.
The source added that the Greek frigate maneuvered to avoid a direct collision, and during that the bow of its nose touched the rear of the Turkish frigate.
Tensions escalated this week after Turkey sent a survey ship to the region, escorted by warships, to map out the details of a marine area for possible oil and gas exploration, an area that Turkey and Greece claim to be under their jurisdiction, and the European Union foreign ministers are scheduled to discuss this issue today. Friday.
Increasing tension
For his part, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called on France to stay away from its steps that increase tension in the region.
On Thursday, the French Ministry of Armies announced that it had temporarily deployed two Rafale fighters and two military ships in the eastern Mediterranean, against the backdrop of escalating tension between Greece and Turkey due to the dispute over gas exploration.
The Turkish minister added in a press conference with his Swiss view in Bern that the reason for the increase in tension in the Mediterranean is due to Greece, and called on Athens to act rationally and not try to approach the Turkish research ship, "Aruj President," as it did two days ago.
He pointed out that Greece signed an agreement with Egypt without referring to Germany or the European Union during the period that Ankara was preparing to enter diplomatic talks with it.
In turn, Turkish Justice Minister Abdul Hamid Gul said that the agreement of Greece and Egypt regarding the "exclusive economic zone" in the Mediterranean is in violation of international laws.
Gul indicated during Friday's statements that there is no place in international laws for efforts to exclude Turkey from the Eastern Mediterranean, despite its possession of the longest coastal strip in it.
Greek moves
On the other hand, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias will meet today in Vienna with his US counterpart, Mike Pompeo, to discuss developments in the Eastern Mediterranean against the backdrop of tension between Greece and Turkey.
This meeting comes before the emergency video-conference meeting of the European Union foreign ministers also today, to which Greece has called on its European partners to put pressure on Turkey.
The Greek Prime Minister warned Wednesday that the situation in the eastern Mediterranean could slide towards a military accident due to the presence of large military forces in a limited place.
He added that Greece is not alone in this confrontation with Turkey, noting that the matter means Ankara's relationship with all European Union countries.
Greece and Turkey are a member of NATO, but their relations have long been fraught with tensions.
Their differences range from the boundaries of the marine continental shelf and airspace to the ethnically divided island of Cyprus, and in 1996 the two countries were on the verge of war over ownership of small, uninhabited islands in the Aegean Sea.
Ankara accuses Greece of seeking to exclude Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus from the natural resources in the Mediterranean. Therefore, Athens and Cairo signed an agreement "delineating the areas of maritime jurisdiction."