France is behaving “like a kaid” and “accentuating tensions” in the Eastern Mediterranean. This is the accusation made by Turkey on Friday 14 August after the reinforcement of the French military presence in this zone where Ankara and Athens are opposed, against the backdrop of the discovery of vast gas deposits.
“France, in particular, should stop taking measures that increase tensions. They will get nothing by behaving like big shots,” Turkish diplomat Mevlüt Cavusoglu said Friday at a press conference with his Swiss counterpart in Geneva.
These statements come against a backdrop of growing tensions between Ankara and Paris over the eastern Mediterranean, Libya and Syria. On Thursday, Paris announced the deployment of two Rafale aircraft and two warships in the eastern Mediterranean as a sign of support for Greece, which accuses Turkey of conducting illegal energy research in its waters.
Mr Cavusoglu said Turkey “did not want escalation”, while blaming Athens for the tensions, which he called for “common sense”. The discovery in recent years of vast gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean has whetted the appetite of the countries bordering the Mediterranean and increased tensions between Turkey and Greece, two neighbouring countries with relations regularly punctuated by crises.
The situation deteriorated after Ankara on Monday deployed a seismic research vessel, escorted by military vessels, to search for gas fields in an area claimed by Athens.
Istanbul deplores the “harassment” of its seismic vessel
The Greek navy is also present in the area to “monitor” Turkish activities, according to Athens. The Turkish government on Friday accused Greek forces of attempting to “harass” its seismic vessel, warning that any aggression would be met with a response. “We cannot leave any attack unanswered. Yesterday, such an incident took place…. If this continues, we will retaliate,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the press on Friday.
The German government for its part “took note” Friday of the French maneuvers in Greece and called on Paris, Athens and Ankara to avoid “escalation” in the conflict in the Eastern Mediterranean around hydrocarbon exploration.
“What is important is de-escalation (…). Everything must be done to avoid further escalation,” said government spokesman Steffen Seibert. The day before, Angela Merkel had spoken with the Greek prime minister and the Turkish president in an attempt to mediate.
The EU foreign ministers, who are meeting on Friday by videoconference at 15:00 (13:00 GMT), are expected to discuss the Turkish issue together and to show their solidarity with Greece and Cyprus in the face of Turkey.
Source: Le Monde
