France will increase its military presence in the Aegean in the face of growing tension between Athens and Ankara
The situation in the Eastern Mediterranean is reaching the height of tension between Greece and Turkey. On Tuesday, a Turkish navy fleet followed the prospecting ship Oruç Reis, and on the same day, the Greek navy announced the arrival of another military fleet and announced that it would open fire, if necessary. Faced with this scenario, international reactions were not long in coming, especially from Athens' European allies such as France.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Wednesday that "in the coming days" he will strengthen his military presence in the Mediterranean in support of Greece. Macron, who had a conversation with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to show his full support, described the situation as "worrying". In his personal Twitter account, the French president wrote that "Turkey's unilateral decisions on oil exploration are causing tensions. These must end to allow a peaceful dialogue between neighbouring countries and allies within NATO".
France will deploy military personnel in Cyprus. Two weeks ago an agreement on security and defence cooperation between the French and Cypriot governments came into force. This new pact will allow French ships to use the facilities of the port of Limassol.
On Wednesday, the Greek Prime Minister issued a televised message calling for dialogue, but in the current climate it has become irrelevant. On the deployment of the fleet in the Mediterranean, he said that it was in response to Turkish activity and announced that there is a real risk of an accident occurring and causing a military escalation, especially considering that the ships of the two countries' navies are so close to each other. Mitsotakis has said that they will not be the first to take the step in the military escalation, but that they will respond to the actions and he assures that they have international support in the face of Turkish provocation.
From the European Union, the High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, convened an extraordinary Foreign Affairs Council this Friday to address this issue, just one day after Athens requested it. Although since Wednesday night the Turkish explorer ship has started heading east, away from the Greek exclusive economic zone (EEZ), it is still in the area marked by Turkey.
Israel's Foreign Minister Gabriel Ashkenazi also showed his support for Athens: "Israel is closely following the increasing tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean and expresses its full support and solidarity with Greece in its maritime areas and its right to delimit its EEZ".
The government in Ankara announced on 21st July that the prospector boat would start operating in the waters around the Greek islands of Rhodes and Kastelorizo. At the same time the Eurasian nation was carrying out military manoeuvres to the south of the islands where according to the Greek press up to 19 boats were involved which led to the Greek Armed Forces being placed on high alert.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government showed its disagreement with the Greek-Egyptian agreement that allowed both nations to advance in the use of the resources available in the EEZ, especially in the oil and gas reserves. But this agreement clashed with the one signed just under a year ago between Turkey and the Libyan government in Tripoli. The latter pact was rejected by Egypt, Greece and Cyprus as a violation of their economic rights. The EU also opposed this agreement, arguing that it was a violation of international law that threatened the stability of the region.
