Trump urges Greece-Turkey dialogue in call with Greek PM

August 27 2020
U.S. President Donald Trump, in a phone call on Aug. 26 with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, expressed concern about tensions between Greece and Turkey and urged the two NATO allies to commit to a dialogue about their dispute over the eastern Mediterranean.
“President Trump reaffirmed that Greece and Turkey must commit to dialogue, which is the only path to resolving their differences. The two leaders also discussed important bilateral and regional issues,” said White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere.
The U.S. president also spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, discussing “regional developments and tensions in the eastern Mediterranean.”
Read more at www.duvarenglish.com

Germany calls for end to east Mediterranean military drills

August 27 2020
Germany’s foreign minister on Thursday called for an end to military drills taking place in the eastern Mediterranean to defuse tensions and create conditions for NATO allies Greece and Turkey to resolve a dispute over offshore energy exploration rights.
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas’ comments came as European Union foreign ministers were set to meet in Berlin to try and persuade EU-member Greece and its neighbor Turkey to pull back from the brink of a conflict. The ministers were expected to debate a range of sanctions and other policy options that might convince Turkey to temper its insistence on drilling for energy reserves in disputed parts of the eastern Mediterranean.
Read more at https://www.ekathimerini.com/256307/article/ekathimerini/news/germany-calls-for-end-to-east-mediterranean-military-drills

Greece, Cyprus, Italy, France to Hold Military Exercises From Wednesday

August 26, 2020
Greece said it will launch military exercises Wednesday with France, Italy, and Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean, the focus of escalating tensions between Athens and Ankara.
The joint exercises south of Cyprus and the Greek island of Crete will last three days, the defense ministry said.
The discovery of major gas deposits in waters surrounding Crete and Cyprus has triggered a scramble for energy riches and revived old rivalries between NATO members Greece and Turkey.
Tensions ratched up another notch when Turkey sent the Oruc Reis research vessel accompanied by warships to disputed waters on August 10.
Read more at https://www.thedefensepost.com/2020/08/26/military-exercises-mediterranean/

Borrell tells German MoD: “Turks are upset with Greeks,” consider them “unreliable”

August 26, 2020
European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Joseph Borrell caught on microphone saying that the “Turks are upset” with the Greeks on the deal with Egypt and that Turks consider the Greeks as “unreliable.” Borrell was discussing with German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, when the “impartial EU top diplomat” decided to convey to her the Turkish views, while she o her part means that “Greeks and Cypriots must contribute to de-escalation.”
An effort to mediate a thaw between Greece and Turkey was “smooth” on the Greek side but “really hard on the Turkish side,” Kramp-Karrenbauer told Borrell.
Read more at https://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2020/08/26/borrell-karrenbauer-turks-greeks-video-mic-open/

Turkey extends work of Oruç Reis vessel through Sept 1

August 27, 2020
Turkey has announced that its Oruç Reis exploration vessel will now carry out seismic surveys in the disputed areas of the eastern Mediterranean until Sept. 1.
According to a Navtex, an advisory to sailors, issued by Turkey on Aug. 27, the Oruç Reis and the two accompanying research vessels will continue their surveys for another four days in the same area claimed by Turkey and Greece as their sovereign continental shelf.
Earlier this month, Turkey said the Oruç Reis would conduct seismic exploration until Aug. 23. Late on Aug. 23, the Turkish navy issued a new advisory saying that the work of the Oruç Reis and two other vessels, the Ataman and Cengiz Han, would continue until Aug. 27.
Read more at  https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-extends-work-of-oruc-reis-vessel-through-sept-1-157741

FM Dendias: “Greece to expand its territorial waters South of Crete to 12 miles”

August 26, 2020
The government is considering expanding the territorial waters to 12 miles south of Crete, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias revealed on Wendesday evening, just hours after the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced that the country extends its territorial waters in the Ionian Sea from 6 to 12 nautical miles.
“The services of the Ministry are already working on the necessary steps,” Dendias stressed during his speech at the Plenary of the Parliament debating the ratification of the maritime boundaries agreements with Italy and Egypt.
Closing the debate in Parliament on the ratification of the agreements between Greece and Italy and Egypt on the delimitation of the EEZ, Dendias noted that the competent services of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are already studying the maps, so that in the near future there will be an expansion of the territorial waters and in the area covered by the Agreement with Egypt
Read more at https://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2020/08/26/greece-territorial-waters-south-crete-expand-12-miles-fm-dendias/

 Ankara puts brake on Berlin initiative

August 26, 2020
The threats directed Tuesday against Greece by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu appeared to have scuppered the German mediation initiative to de-escalate tension between the two countries. For his part, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said earlier during a meeting with his visiting German counterpart Heiko Maas that Turkey must de-escalate the tension in the Eastern Mediterranean and Aegean or face European Union sanctions.
But Turkey appeared defiant, with Cavusoglu saying, shortly after his brief meeting in Ankara with Maas, that Turkey “will do what is necessary without hesitation” while denouncing Greece over its statements that it will defend its rights, warning it not to “endanger” itself by playing the role of bait for some countries – in what was seen as a clear reference to France, the US and the United Arab Emirates.
Read more at https://www.ekathimerini.com/256225/article/ekathimerini/news/ankara-puts-brake-on-berlin-initiative

France & Italy throw weight behind Greece as naval war games kick off amid Athens-Ankara row

August 26, 2020
France, Italy, Greece and Cyprus are staging a massive maritime exercise in the Eastern Mediterranean, in an apparent veiled nod to Turkey, which recently began researching oil and gas deposits in the area, raising ire in Athens.
Codenamed ‘Eunomia’, the aeronautical exercises launched on Wednesday off the southern shores of Cyprus, the host nation of the war games. Athens’ defense minister announced the start of the drills earlier in the day, saying they are to reinforce “the rule of law as part of the policy of de-escalating tensions.”
France, in turn, also confirmed the news, having dispatched its ‘Lafayette’ frigate, as well as three Rafale fighter jets. Italian and Cypriot vessels were also said to have joined the exercise in the eastern part of the Mediterranean.
Read more at https://www.rt.com/news/499062-greece-france-italy-exercise/