Tension high between Turkey, Greece in Eastern Mediterranean

Tactical Frog

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2016
Messages
1,542
Likes
2,279
Country flag
A thread to cover the events as they unfold in Eastern Mediterranean.


ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey vowed Tuesday to press ahead with searching for oil and gas in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, saying it plans to issue new exploration licenses for the area despite an escalating dispute with Greece over drilling rights.

Greece’s foreign minister, meanwhile, called for an emergency meeting of the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council “on the subject of the growing Turkish provocation and delinquency.”
Tension has increased between NATO allies Greece and Turkey, both of which have warships shadowing a Turkish research vessel that was sent to carry out seismic research for energy resources in the eastern Mediterranean in an area Greece says is on its continental shelf.
...
The Turkish government announced on Monday that its research vessel Oruc Reis and two support vessels would be operating in the Mediterranean Sea between Cyprus and Greece until Aug. 23. The vessel arrived in the area Monday morning, escorted by Turkish warships.
Greece slammed the decision as an illegal act that infringed on its sovereign rights, saying the Turkish research vessel was inside an area covered by the Greek continental shelf. Greek warships were in the area monitoring the Oruc Reis, and the military was on alert, officials said.
...
Greece and Turkey have traditionally had testy relations and have been at odds for decades over a wide variety of issues. The two have come to the brink of war three times since the mid-1970s, including once over drilling exploration rights in the Aegean Sea that separates the two countries. Recent discoveries of natural gas and drilling plans across the east Mediterranean have led to renewed tension.
...
Ankara was angered by a deal Greece signed with Egypt on Thursday delineating their bilateral maritime boundaries and exclusive economic zones for rights to the exploitation of resources.
Last year, Turkey signed a similar deal with the U.N.-backed Libyan government in Tripoli, sparking outrage in Greece, Egypt and Cyprus, which said the agreement infringed on their economic rights in the Mediterranean. The EU said the deal was a violation of international law that threatened regional stability.
At the heart of the issue is how a country’s continental shelf is calculated and whether islands should be included in the calculation. Turkey argues they should not, a position that Greece says violates international law.
 

Tactical Frog

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2016
Messages
1,542
Likes
2,279
Country flag
Some maps and a link to understand what is the fight about ...


East Mediterranean gas will improve energy security in Western Europe


EDE1BF29-1997-4E8F-BF44-FF6D058494E4.png
2F2F2DDF-EEBC-4D09-B76D-C596AE935E08.png


12BA8535-E724-4ACB-A3DD-1DF624B449BA.png

Turkish map referred to on Tuesday by Turkish Foreign Ministry official Catagay Erciyes

source : https://greece.greekreporter.com/20...gean-greek-pm-briefs-party-leaders-president/
 
Last edited:

Akula

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2019
Messages
2,895
Likes
10,850
Country flag
Some maps and a link to understand what is the fight about ...


East Mediterranean gas will improve energy security in Western Europe


View attachment 56202View attachment 56203


View attachment 56206
Turkish map referred to on Tuesday by Turkish Foreign Ministry official Catagay Erciyes

source : https://greece.greekreporter.com/20...gean-greek-pm-briefs-party-leaders-president/
South China Sea dispute of Mediterranean?
 

Tactical Frog

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2016
Messages
1,542
Likes
2,279
Country flag
Lot of strange things happening in Cyprus ... if all hell breaks loose we might see a french israeli alliance against Turkey


“Three aircraft of the French Air Force have since Monday afterrnoon been stationed at the ‘Andreas Papandreou’ air base in Paphos. The presence of the warplanes at infrastructure of the Cyprus National Guard, is not, Kathimerini understands, related to the developing situation in the region.

The three warplanes – two Rafale fighter aircraft and two C 180 utility aircraft – took off from a French airport headed for Cyprus. According to military sources, the presence of the three French warplanes is related with the defence cooperation agreement signed by the two countries, and which was recently announced as being in force.

The same sources explained that the French warplanes are conducting trial flights testing the National Guard infrastructure in Paphos, but did not confirm that the French military aircraft are participating in other activities. Their departure is scheduled for Wednesday noon, but their course and destination remains unknown.

Helicopters

The Paphos air base also appears to be hosting Israeli helicopters. In fact, one of the helicopters was captured on video secured by “K” flying in a Paphos area. Informally, current information suggests that the Israeli helicopters were present in joint activities with the National Guard. However, the Defence Ministry stresses that there are no planned activities of any form until September.”
 

Tactical Frog

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2016
Messages
1,542
Likes
2,279
Country flag
What is France's interest in Turkey Greece fight ?
Standing with an european country, member of the European Union, against an external threat, should be enough as an answer. If the European Union cannot do that , it is a worthless shell that does not deserve to exist ... maybe not all members understand this. At least France does.
 

ashdoc

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 21, 2010
Messages
2,980
Likes
3,679
Country flag
Standing with an european country, member of the European Union, against an external threat, should be enough as an answer. If the European Union cannot do that , it is a worthless shell that does not deserve to exist ... maybe not all members understand this. At least France does.
I agree . Greece is the bastion of Christianity that has stood against Islamic incursions for ages . Inheritor of a great civilization but like india constantly under threat by Muslims .
 

Tshering22

Sikkimese Saber
Senior Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2010
Messages
7,869
Likes
23,213
Country flag
Standing with a European country, member of the European Union, against an external threat, should be enough as an answer. If the European Union cannot do that, it is a worthless shell that does not deserve to exist ... maybe not all members understand this. At least France does.
Not just that.

France has a lot of economic interests in that area as it is jointly helping Greece and Cyprus for commercialization of the resources found in that area of the Mediterranean.

It is beautifully explained in this mini-documentary by a channel called CaspianReport on YouTube:


In a nutshell, France, Greece, Cyprus, Israel and Egypt all had a Mediterranean conference whereby they agreed to each other's claims without any serious conflicts. However, Turkey was excluded from this. According to the distribution of EEZ for Turkey and Greece, while Turkey got the bigger land portion (Anatolian plains were actually Greece before the Turks invaded from Central Asia and took over), Greeks got the mammoth oceanic territory due to the spread of its small islands and islets across the region. Therefore, Turkey has very limited waterways despite having a large coastline in the Mediterranean.

While in itself, Turkey's claims appear to be legitimate and they do seem to be wronged, but the way they are claiming it is illegal; they are using Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a de facto entity on northern Cyprus that only Turkey recognizes (after the 1974 invasion of the island) and justifying their claim on the said Mediterranean continental shelf resources using the TRNC's EEZ, which no one recognizes separately from the Republic of Cyprus - not even their new pet Pakistan.

This has antagonized Greece since it is the cultural motherland of Cypriots and they both have close ties. Also, both Greece and Turkey clash with each other due to their proximity and different political ideologies. If it is a one-to-one fight, Turkey has the muscle to crush Greece, take over most of its islands and dictate terms. But being an EU country, Greece has sought the strategic involvement of France, since it has shared commercial interests in the resources of the region.
 
Last edited:

porky_kicker

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2016
Messages
6,024
Likes
44,577
Country flag
Turkey has since the rule of Erdogan become the European version of Pakistan. It needs to cut to size otherwise forget about Europe , Turkey will create problems for India . Actually it is already a problem from India, carrying out lot of anti India activities from its soil.
 

shade

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2016
Messages
14,301
Likes
87,001
Country flag
What is France's interest in Turkey Greece fight ?
I guess they don't want the Greeks to get extinct.
Germany will not interfere because of economical and political relationship with Turkey, like 5-6 million German citizens are Turkis by ethnicity.
The last time nobody interfered, North and East Cyprus was gobbled by Turkey, if allowed to run amok the Turks will conquer Greece proper also.
Erdogan is also being a thorn in the side of the West, both US and EU
 

Tshering22

Sikkimese Saber
Senior Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2010
Messages
7,869
Likes
23,213
Country flag
I guess they don't want the Greeks to get extinct.
Germany will not interfere because of economical and political relationship with Turkey, like 5-6 million German citizens are Turkis by ethnicity.
The last time nobody interfered, North and East Cyprus was gobbled by Turkey, if allowed to run amok the Turks will conquer Greece proper also.
Erdogan is also being a thorn in the side of the West, both US and EU
Germany may produce hi-tech weapons but their military is in terrible shape. If push comes to shove, Germans will lose a war against Moldova, let alone take on Turkey that is far more battle-hardened and has the 2nd largest NATO military force only behind the USA.

France meanwhile is the silent world power that is now reacting. Not only do they have a very well-balanced foreign policy, but they can also smash Turkey to bits if the Turks cross the military line.
 

TheTurk

New Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2020
Messages
9
Likes
19
Country flag
i think this whole erdogan posture is just a Illuminati trick to get turkey destroyed by NATO.

Erdogan is an insane man and he has no clue that Turkey without NATO is a weakling on the international arena.
 

Tshering22

Sikkimese Saber
Senior Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2010
Messages
7,869
Likes
23,213
Country flag
i think this whole erdogan posture is just a Illuminati trick to get turkey destroyed by NATO.

Erdogan is an insane man and he has no clue that Turkey without NATO is a weakling on the international arena.
Erdogan's international policies are the consequence of his perception of his country. He wants to have a region "under Turkish influence" and found that since the European Union won't accept Turkey's accession (unfair IMO), the Middle East makes the perfect alternative.

But the only way to enter the Middle Eastern politics is to try and prove that you are a pious Muslim - the ideal Muslim. Erdogan was already conservative when he was the mayor of Istanbul and was well-known for conservative personal views. However, there is a long road between conservative and downright radical, that he may seem to have covered since his political ascendance 17 years ago.

The problem is, instead of focusing on policies centred around his region, the man has started picking up fights and intervening in matters that are way beyond his scope of understanding or control. Turkey has been a valued member of NATO and is one of the few countries that is licensed to manufacture the F-16 jet under license. Turkey has access to cutting edge electronic warfare systems from USA and other European countries and can easily collaborate with these powers to develop their own systems.

But because of one stupid insistence of the Russian S-400 missile (which is the best in the market), he lost the trust of the entire NATO. It is a matter of time before NATO votes Turkey out if he continues with this attitude. To make it worse, Erdogan has been lashing out at everyone in the region - Israel, Egypt, Lebanon, Greece, the UAE, Armenia and Cyprus. While each of these countries is no match for Turkey (except Israel), when combined together, they can economically and militarily join hands and deliver some serious punishment to Erdogan's ego.

The sad part about all this is that the common Turks are not being heard. Correct me if I am wrong, but the educated and capable Turkish youth is leaving the country.

As someone for whom the entire world is a working space and has spent quite some time in Turkey, I feel sad. Before Erdogan's extra-regional aggressions, I had a great time in your country - the food, the music, the cultural aspects, the general warmth of the common Turkish people were all quite nice.

Let's hope he at least mends his fences with all those countries that he picked on, including us Indians. I don't know what has gotten into him to pick on us who are over 3000 Kms away from his furthest borders.
 

Latest Replies

Global Defence

New threads

Articles

Top