The Foreign Ministry's announcement was received against the background of growing tensions between Greece and Turkey • The Turks recently sent a ship to an area near one of the Greek islands that could locate oil and gas
Turkish ship conducts gas exploration (archive)
Photo:
AFP
Israel announced this morning (Wednesday) that it supports Greece in its opposition to Turkish attempts to gnaw at Greek territorial waters. This is against the background of the recent growing tensions between the two countries.
The Foreign Ministry said that "Israel is closely following the tensions that are arising in the eastern Mediterranean. Israel expresses its full support and solidarity with Greece in its sea areas and its right to demarcate its economic waters."
The Israeli announcement comes following many provocations by Turkey in Greece recently and following a several-year alliance between Israel, Greece and Cyprus and against the background of the progress of the "Estamed" project for joint export to Europe of gas that the three countries discovered in the depths of the Mediterranean. Israel has so far refrained from taking an explicit position alongside the Greeks, who are in increasing tension with the Turks.
Turkey recently sent the ship Oroch Rice to Greece's maritime border area to conduct seismic surveys to investigate earthquakes and the spread of elastic waves in the area. As the ship was sent to the area of the Greek island of Castellorizo in an attempt to find oil and gas as well, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsutkis convened the Greek military leaders for a discussion on Tuesday.
