Reuters quoted Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu as saying that his country had agreed in principle to Switzerland's offer to mediate in resolving the conflict with Athens in the eastern Mediterranean.

The tension between Ankara and Athens escalated a few days ago, after Turkey sent a ship to discover oil and gas in a disputed area, and a light collision occurred last Wednesday between a Greek warship and a Turkish one in the eastern Mediterranean.

On Friday, the Turkish foreign minister said during his visit to Switzerland that Athens should act rationally, calling on the European Union to stop "spoiling" Greece, and Turkey also warned France of the consequences of interfering in this dispute.

The Turkish minister said that Paris should stop taking measures to exacerbate tension, adding that Greece "should not try to provoke Aruj Reis (the name of the seismic research vessel) as it did two days ago, otherwise there will be a response," noting that it is the duty of the European Union not to It gives Greece "unconditional support".

A light collision occurred last Wednesday between a Greek warship and a Turkish one in the eastern Mediterranean, and Athens described what happened as an accident, while Turkey said it was a provocation.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that "any attack targeting Turkish seismic search ships in the Mediterranean will not pass without a response."

The novel Greek
contrast, a Greek source told Reuters said that the Turkish survey ship was moving between Cyprus and the island of Crete , the Greek near a number of Greek frigates, I approached them one of these frigates, a frigate "Limnos", and then intersected with one of the ships path guard naval Turkish " Kamal Reis. "

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.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias - who met with his US counterpart Mike Pompeo in Vienna yesterday - said he hoped all parties concerned would act in accordance with international law, adding, "Everything can be resolved, but this is a question that should be directed to the Turks."

The US Secretary of State spoke of an urgent need to reduce tension in the eastern Mediterranean region.

On Friday, the European Union countries met at the level of foreign ministers to express their solidarity with Greece. The ministers called for a "negotiated solution" and for a "de-escalation", as they decided to continue discussing the issue during a meeting to be held at the end of this month.

European solidarity
A European Union official said that the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, indicated in a phone call with Erdogan the day before yesterday, Thursday, to the European Union's full solidarity with Greece.

The official added that Michel called for an end to the escalation of tension, and said that provocations should be avoided and dialogue should be resorted to.

French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to discuss with German Chancellor Angela Merkel next week the tensions between Greece and Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean region.

“Former Turkish Intelligence Chief İsmail Hakkı Pekin”
.
"Greece and Egypt ... are just pawns in the hands of the United States, and their agreement was with an American green light to force
Turkey into a maritime agreement with Israel.
" Turkey must respond by conducting a seismic survey on the island of Mays. "And we impose the status quo in the Mediterranean.
" The conflict with Greece has become a reality. " / bZu5W2FRP4

- Dr.mehmet canbekli (@ Mehmetcanbekli1) August 9, 2020

The differences between Greece and Turkey range from the borders of the continental shelf and airspace to the island of Cyprus divided along ethnic lines, and in 1996 the two countries were on the verge of war over disputes over the ownership of small uninhabited islands in the Aegean.

The discovery of huge gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean in recent years has led to an escalation of tension between Turkey and Greece, the two neighbors of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), whose relationship was not free of crises historically.