The Turkish Ministry of Defense said that it would hold naval exercises in the eastern Mediterranean, including training on firing, on the first and second of next month, while the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) expressed concern about the escalation in the region and called on Ankara and Athens for dialogue.
And the Naval Forces Command in Ankara specified in a navigation bulletin the coordinates of the maneuvering area at sea, asking all ships to move away from the maneuver area to ensure their safety.
On Thursday morning, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar announced that the exercise zone is located south of the city of Iskenderun in Hatay Province, southern Turkey, stressing that his country will not allow any step that would deprive it of its rights in the region.
In a press statement today, Thursday, Akar stressed that it is not possible to accept the logic of Greece, which says that they have the right to everything and exclude the rights of Turkey.
Using France and the UAE
Commenting on Paris and Abu Dhabi's support for Athens, he said that Greece itself is confident that it will not reach a result through the assistance of France and the UAE, noting that the agreement concluded between Egypt and Greece harms both parties, and that Egypt is the biggest loser.
The Greek Ministry of Defense announced the start of joint military exercises with France, Italy and Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean, from today until next Friday.
French Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, said that the eastern Mediterranean is turning into a space for tensions, and that respect for international law should be the rule, not the exception.
The French minister added that her country's message is simple, which is that the priority is dialogue, cooperation and diplomacy in order for the eastern Mediterranean to be a space for stability and respect for international law, and not a field for the aspirations of some.
The Turkish Defense Minister responded by saying that "despite the logical and calm statements of the NATO Secretary General, the French Defense Minister's statements about the maneuvers are provocative and cannot be understood or understood in context."
Concern and calls for dialogue
And NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has previously expressed his concern about the escalating situation in the eastern Mediterranean.
He added in a press conference today with German Chancellor Angela Merkel that he is in continuous contact with Greece and Turkey, stressing the need to resolve the crisis through dialogue and stop the escalation between the two parties.
Earlier Wednesday, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, called for the need to reduce tension in the eastern Mediterranean and resolve differences between the countries concerned in accordance with the UN Charter.
"We are clearly following these developments in the eastern Mediterranean," said Stefan Dujarric - a spokesman for Guterres - during a press conference.
Trump is on the crisis streak
In the same context, the White House said that US President Donald Trump, in a telephone conversation with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis - Wednesday evening, expressed his concern about the current tension between Greece and Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean.
A White House statement added that Trump called the two countries in NATO to dialogue regarding their dispute over rights to energy resources in the eastern Mediterranean.
Trump had discussed in a phone call with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday, bilateral and regional issues, including the issue of the Eastern Mediterranean.
For its part, the Turkish presidency said in a statement that the Turkish president made clear during the call that his country "was not the party that creates instability in the eastern Mediterranean," and that Turkey "has demonstrated its support for dialogue and de-escalation by taking concrete steps."