3 yıl önce

Turkey: Greece deploying navy boats near Turkish coast

Athens has sent assault boats to demilitarised islands in east Aegean in "provocative and unlawful actions," says Turkish National Defense Ministry spokesperson Major Pinar Kara.

AA

Spokesperson of the Turkish Ministry of Defense, Maj Pinar Kara, speaks at the press briefing held at the ministry in Ankara, on March 8, 2021.

Turkish National Defense Ministry spokesperson Major Pinar Kara has said that Greece continued to deploy naval vessels to demilitarised islands in the eastern Aegean Sea, sending assault boats to Meis island just a few miles from Turkey.

"Despite all of Turkey's positive and constructive efforts, Greece continues its provocative and unlawful actions," Kara said in a news conference on Monday.

"However, Turkey maintains its efforts in favour of resolving the issue through dialogue and negotiations based on international law and good neighbourly relations via peaceful means," she added.

Taking note of a recent meeting between the two countries under a deconfliction mechanism at NATO headquarters, she said Greece had yet to respond to an official invitation for a fourth confidence-building meeting.

Tensions over eastern Mediterranean

Tensions have been running high for months in the eastern Mediterranean as Greece has disputed Turkey's rights to energy exploration.

Turkey – the country with the longest coastline on the Mediterranean – sent out drill ships to explore for energy on its continental shelf, asserting its rights in the region as well as those of the TRNC.

Greece has made maximalist maritime territorial boundary claims based on small islands just kilometres off the Turkish coast.

To reduce tensions, Ankara has called for dialogue and negotiations to ensure fair sharing of the region's resources.