Eastern Mediterranean .. Turkish-Greek contacts and Erdogan affirms: We will not allow us to be isolated inside our shores

Ankara and Athens confirmed conducting military and political contacts in preparation for possible talks to calm tensions between the two countries in the eastern Mediterranean, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan affirmed that his country adheres to its rights and will not allow anyone to isolate it on its shores.

The Turkish Defense Ministry said that a Turkish and another Greek military delegation held a meeting today, Thursday, at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

While most of the European Union countries - led by France - sided with Greece and Cyprus;

NATO offered to mediate to defuse the crisis between Turkey and Greece.

Concurrently, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced today that his advisers are in contact with the advisors of the Turkish President at the current stage to arrange possible talks between the two sides soon.

A Greek government spokesman confirmed the resumption of contacts between the advisors of Mitsotakis and Erdogan, after Turkey withdrew the exploration ship "Oruj Reis" a few days ago from a sea area that Greece claims is located within its economic waters to the port of Antalya.

This step appeared to be an initiative by Ankara to pave the way for dialogue, but on the other hand, it emphasized that this does not mean abandoning its rights in the eastern Mediterranean.

Isolation is rejected,

and the Turkish President stressed today that no one will be allowed to restrict his country to its coasts. In this context, he declared that "Turkey will not allow anyone to isolate it inside its shores despite its possession of the longest coasts on the Mediterranean."

Erdogan said in a speech he delivered during a ceremony in Ankara to distribute state medals to relatives of martyrs and those injured in wars and during anti-terrorism operations;

His country is acting wisely about the eastern Mediterranean crisis because it is a great country, despite what he described as Greece’s provocations and its "childish behavior."

"Our counterparts have realized that the language of threat is useless, and that Turkey will not be subject to blackmail and bandits," he added.

As a result of Ankara's insistence on defending its rights in that region.

In the past few days, Erdogan has vehemently attacked the French president, calling on him not to mess with Turkey.

Macron appears, through his statements and movements, as the leader of the anti-Turkish front in this crisis.

They said: We do not in principle rule out the signing of the United Nations Law of the Seas as a last resort for resolving the conflict with Greece (Anatolia).

A last resort

For his part, Turkish Presidency spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said today - during a webinar of the European Council for Foreign Relations - that his country does not, in principle, exclude the signing of the United Nations Law of the Seas as a last resort to resolve the conflict with Greece.

Greece says the islands should be taken into account when delineating a country's continental shelf, in line with the United Nations Law of the Seas that Turkey has not signed.

In contrast, Turkey says that a country's continental shelf should be measured from its mainland.

While arrangements are underway to hold bilateral talks at the highest level, the Greek Armed Forces Command said that 8 F-16s flew with two American warplanes on Wednesday in the eastern Mediterranean airspace.

This is the second time for the escort operation within one month. Late last month, Greek aircraft escorted American bombers as part of the military cooperation between the two countries within the framework of NATO missions.

This comes at a time when ground maneuvers are continuing in the north of the country between the Greek and American armies near Turkish territory, with the participation of tanks, and the exercises will last for 5 days.

Tensions have recently escalated in the eastern Mediterranean, raising fears of military clashes, especially with the succession of Turkish and Greek military exercises and movements, either individually or with other countries, as well as Greece unveiling a deal to buy weapons from France, including warplanes.

European sanctions The European

Union gave Turkey a deadline to stop gas exploration on the coasts of northern Cyprus, and threatened to impose additional sanctions on it.

Earlier, the European Union’s foreign affairs and security official, Josep Borrell said that the emergency European summit scheduled to be held on the 24th and 25th of this month may approve new sanctions against Turkey if there is no progress in the dialogue between it and Greece.

In his statements in Ankara today, the Turkish President renewed his call for the European Union to take an objective and balanced position on all regional issues, especially the eastern Mediterranean conflict, without being drawn into incitement.

For his part, the European Parliament called on Turkey to immediately stop all drilling and drilling activities, which he described as illegal in the eastern Mediterranean.

The European Parliament called on Ankara not to violate the Greek airspace and the territorial waters of Greece and Cyprus, and to put an end to what it described as the war nationalist rhetoric.

The European representatives also called on the heads of state and government of the Union to prepare to put in place an additional package of sanctions against Turkey, noting that this option can only be avoided through dialogue.

Turkey responded by rejecting the European Parliament’s decision, saying that it served the "selfish interests" of some countries, describing it as "biased and unjust."