Turkey on Saturday launched new military drills in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, and Greece accused Turkish jets of an incursion as tensions mount in a maritime standoff between the NATO members.
The confrontation has reignited a long-standing rivalry between Greece and Turkey over disputed maritime rights and gas resources, and the countries have begun staging competing naval drills.
In a message on Navtex, the international maritime navigational system, Turkey said it would carry out “gunnery exercises” from Saturday until Friday next week in a zone off the southern Turkish town of Anamur, north of the island of Cyprus.
Ankara had announced on Thursday that military exercises would take place tomorrow and on Wednesday in a zone further east.
In another sign of the volatility, the Greek Ministry of National Defense said that Turkish fighter planes had on Friday entered the Athens Flight Information Region, the area where Greek authorities are responsible for air traffic.
The incursion happened while four Greek F-16 jets were escorting a US B-52 bomber as part of the “Allied Sky” mission, in which six US bombers fly over all 30 NATO nations in Europe and North America in a single day to display the alliance’s solidarity.
The Turkish aerial intrusion was a “provocative and anti-ally” stance, and Greek fighters chased away the Turkish planes, the ministry said.
The crisis has split members of the NATO alliance and in a telephone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stressed the need for “dialogue and de-escalation.”
Greece and Turkey were already divided on significant issues, including migration and Byzantine heritage in Istanbul, and tensions over the island of Cyprus.
However, the discovery of hydrocarbon reserves in the eastern Mediterranean has further strained relations, with Turkey rejecting calls from the EU and Athens to immediately stop energy exploration in disputed waters.
It was the deployment of the Turkish research vessel Oruc Reis into Greek waters accompanied by Turkish warships on Aug. 10 that caused the latest spike in tensions.
On Friday, the Turkish Ministry of National Defense said that its jets on Thursday intercepted six Greek aircraft, which were approaching a zone where a Turkish research ship was deployed, forcing them to turn around.
The EU on Friday warned Turkey that it could face fresh sanctions — including tough economic measures — unless progress is made in reducing soaring tensions.
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