Greece is preparing to host a tripartite meeting with Israel and Cyprus, while Turkey has once again extended the mission of the "Aruj Reis" ship to explore the eastern Mediterranean, in a move Greece considered "illegal", which was rejected by Turkey.
A statement issued by the Israeli Foreign Ministry said that Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi will travel on Monday to Athens on a two-day diplomatic visit, with the aim of participating in a tripartite meeting between Greece, Israel and Cyprus.
Ashkenazi will also hold bilateral and tripartite meetings to discuss ways to strengthen Israeli, Greek and Cypriot relations, in addition to discussing regional developments in the region.
According to the statement, Ashkenazi will meet the Greek prime minister, his counterparts and the foreign ministers of Greece and Cyprus, as well as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who will be in Athens at that time.
Ashkenazi will meet with his counterparts, the foreign ministers of Greece, Cyprus and Russia (Reuters)
Exploration extension
On the other hand, the Turkish Navy informed the International Maritime Warning System "Naftex" late Saturday, that "Aruj Reis" will remain - accompanied by the ships Ataman and Genghis - in the region until November 4, after it was scheduled to leave Tuesday.
The Greek Foreign Ministry responded by describing Turkey's activities as "unauthorized and illegal, in an area overlapping the continental shelf of Greece."
"Greece strongly condemns this unacceptable behavior that makes the possibility of establishing a constructive dialogue more elusive," the ministry said in a statement, and called for an immediate reversal of the decision.
Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas said - in a TV interview - that the last step is "additional proof of Turkey's lack of credibility even towards NATO," which the two countries share in its membership.
Turki refused
Commenting on the Greek position, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said that the Greek Foreign Ministry's description of the Turkish exploration activities in the sea as "illegal" are "baseless" allegations, adding that the area in which the drilling is taking place lies entirely within the continental shelf of Turkey, which has been done Determination on the basis of international law and registered with the United Nations.
He stressed that his country explicitly explained this to the Greek ambassador in Ankara on October 23, and that the area in which the exploration is taking place is about 440 km from the Greek mainland, while it is about 130 km from the mainland of Turkey.
Aksoy reiterated Turkey's permanent readiness for cooperation and dialogue to find a just solution in the eastern Mediterranean that guarantees the legitimate rights of Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots, he said.
Tension subsided after Turkey withdrew its ship for maintenance work and agreed to start preliminary talks with Greece, but Ankara sent it back after that, which angered Greece and European countries.