During the past days, unusual Greek military movements were monitored on the island of Mays, in the midst of the escalating tension between Athens and Ankara over sovereignty and economic rights in the eastern Mediterranean.

This island - over which Greece imposes its sovereignty - is located only two kilometers from the coast of the Turkish town of Kas in the state of Antalya, and more than 580 km from the Greek mainland.

By virtue of agreements concluded, this island is considered a demilitarized island, but it has long been a hotbed of tension between the two sides.

Throughout its history, the island was known by several names, the most famous of which are Kastellorizo, Mays, and Qazel Hesar (meaning in Turkish the Red Fort).

The Al-Jazeera correspondent, who is proud of God Hassan, who is currently in Antalya off this island, said that he had monitored the arrival of an armed boat there, referring to what has been reported in recent days about Greece's arming the island, which is prohibited by the agreements concluded on it.

The Sanad service for monitoring and verification on the island monitored satellite images and a video clip showing Greek military movements on the island and two other nearby islands.

The photos, which Sanad has confirmed, show the presence of Greek soldiers and military vehicles on the island.

🔴Dışişleri Bakanlığı'na önemle duyurulur;

Paris Antlaşması'nın 14. maddesi gereği İstanbul'dan Yunanistan'a "gayri askeri statü" ile devredilen Meis / Kızılhisar Adası'nda;

kolluk kuvvetleri dışında askerler de konuşlanmış, tahkimat işlemleri de yapılmıştır.

pic.twitter.com/6E1V4hOk6d

- Doğu Akdeniz Politik (@akdenizpolitik) September 1, 2020

Other photos showed Greek forces and fortifications on Rho Island, which lies 5 kilometers west of Mays, as well as on Strougili Island, east of Mays.

Greece takes this island and the neighboring islands as an argument for its claim that there are no rights for Turkey in that area in the eastern Mediterranean, on the grounds that it forms part of the continental shelf of Greece, while Ankara rejects those claims and does not see a legal or logical basis for them, given the occurrence of those islands About 600 kilometers from the Greek mainland, and within the continental shelf of Turkey, she said.

An image showing military sites on the island of Mays (communication sites)

In light of the escalating tension, the official Turkish news agency Anadolu Agency said that its team, which sent it for media coverage on the island of Mays, was facing charges of espionage and leakage of personal data.

The agency reported that the Greek site "Turkikanea" (Tourkikanea.gr) - which it described as extremist - attacked its team and accused it of espionage.

The agency quoted a spokesman for the European Commission as saying that the Greek authorities should launch an investigation into what happened.

Greek soldiers on the island of Rho, near the island of Mies (communication sites)

Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, on Friday, directed strong criticism of Greece and France.

Cavusoglu said that French President Emmanuel Macron "went crazy" in light of the developments in the Libyan and Syrian arenas, and on the maritime borders in the eastern Mediterranean.

NATO initiative

Meanwhile, the Turkish minister accused Athens of lying about the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) initiative to hold talks between the Turkish and Greek sides to defuse tension.

The minister said, "The Secretary-General of NATO announced the initiative after asking Greece for its opinion on it and obtaining its approval, and we were not surprised by what Greece did. Unfortunately, the Secretary-General of the alliance lied, but it is Greece itself who is lying here, and it showed once again that it does not support the idea of ​​dialogue." ".

Ankara says it has accepted the NATO initiative as a matter of course to prevent any clashes between the alliance's member states.

The Al-Jazeera correspondent said that the Turkish Foreign Minister held a call today with the Secretary-General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, to discuss the latest developments regarding the tension in the eastern Mediterranean.

Earlier, Stoltenberg explained that the NATO initiative intended to conduct technical talks aimed at developing mechanisms for disengagement, and to complement the negotiations efforts that Germany is working on between Ankara and Athens.

For his part, German government spokesman Stephen Seibert confirmed his country's endeavor to reduce the escalation in the eastern Mediterranean, adding that Berlin will contribute as much as it can to push for a dialogue between Ankara and Athens to discuss issues of disagreement between them.

On the other hand, the European Union announced its support for Greece and Cyprus in the face of Turkey regarding the eastern Mediterranean crisis.

A spokesman for the European Union's Foreign Policy Committee, Peter Stano, said that the support of the two countries is essential for the members of the union, adding that dialogue is the only way to defuse the tension between the two sides.

Greece has transferred this file from the corridors of NATO and the European Union to the United Nations, as the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis confirmed that the Foreign Minister had presented a summary to the Secretary-General of the United Nations on what he described Turkey's illegal activities.

Mitsotakis said, "Greece wants and can conduct a dialogue on the demarcation of maritime borders in the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean based on international law and without being subjected to blackmail and the logic of incitement, to put the threats aside to allow the start of talks."