Just over two weeks ago, Angela Merkel had to act as a mediator in an emergency - now there is another crash between Turkey and Greece.
- A battle for resources is raging in the Mediterranean - Turkey and Greece, among others, are in conflict
- Chancellor Angela Merkel did not have to settle a highly controversial dispute until the end of July.
- Now there is apparently again trouble - Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government has dispatched a ship.
Update of 13 August, 22.00: The Turkey wants off the Greek coast to natural gas Search (see below) - and then gets into trouble. A massive conflict with Athens threatens. But EU sanctions are also possible. In this situation, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hopes for no one other than Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU). Erdogan apparently wants to win her again as a mediator.
Merkel, who brokered the gas dispute between the NATO partners in July, called the Turkish president again on Thursday, as the state news agency Anadolu reported. Erdogan emphasized that he wanted to resolve the dispute through dialogue and on the basis of international law.
After reports of a collision between a Turkish and a Greek ship in the eastern Mediterranean,
Erdogan also warned of an escalation on Thursday evening . “We told them, look, don't attack our 'Oruc Reis'. Should you attack our 'Oruc Reis', you will pay a high price for it. And today they got their first answer, ”said Erdogan in Ankara. The Turkish research vessel “Oruc Reis” , accompanied by the Navy, continued the search for natural gas south of the Greek islands of Rhodes and Kastelorizo on Thursday .
Various rumors of an incident have been circulating in the Greek press since that morning. According to some reports, there had been a side collision between a Greek and a Turkish frigate . Others reported that a Greek frigate had touched one of the escort ships of the “Oruc Reis” from the side. The rumors from Athens were initially neither confirmed nor denied. According to reports from the Greek state television, extensive maneuvers by Greek and French warships took place south of Crete. Erdogan accused Athens of treachery, but at the same time was ready for dialogue.
The foreign ministers of the EU countries to advise on this Friday afternoon in an unscheduled video conference about possible reactions in the gas conflict with Turkey . Sanctions against Belarus are also discussed. The country is in a state of emergency after the presidential election that was allegedly rigged.
Does Angela Merkel have to mediate again? New provocation from Erdogan - Navy already on site
Athens / Ankara - Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Turkey could once again cause massive trouble for Chancellor Angela Merkel , NATO and the EU - once again, natural gas production in the Mediterranean is the point of contention. Merkel recently mediated between Turkey and Greece. Now there is another threat of escalation.
Athens has already announced a special meeting of the government council for foreign affairs and defense, chaired by the Conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis , the state news agency ANA-MPA reported. Numerous ships of the navy of the two NATO countries are in this region, according to sources of the government in Athens.
Turkey: Erdogan's government sends research ship - Greece is alarmed
The reason for the new faults: A Turkish ship is to carry out seismic research for natural gas south of the Greek island of Megisti (Kasteloriso) by August 23 . This was announced by the responsible marine authority in Turkey. It is not only here that the two countries are fighting for control over fossil fuel deposits in the Mediterranean. Erdogan's Turkey also wants to strengthen its position of power militarily.
The Turkish energy minister Fatih Dönmez wrote on Twitter on Monday that the research vessel "Oruc Reis" had already left the port of Antalya and had reached the area where it would carry out research. Dönmez did not disclose the position of the ship. The Turkish authorities had announced that the "Oruc Reis" would carry out seismic surveys in an area southeast of Crete and south of the island of Rhodes.
Turkey President Erdogan with an answer to the Greece-Egypt EEZ deal: "We have resumed drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean, we sent Barbaros Hayrettin to his duty again, they do not keep their words (Greece)." pic.twitter.com/xo7C6kige4
- Ali Özkök (@Ozkok_A) August 7, 2020Dönmez wrote on Twitter: "For Turkey's energy independence, our activities in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea will continue uninterrupted."
Angela Merkel: Chancellor mediated between Turkey and Greece in July - new trouble threatens
At the end of July, after a mediation by Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), there was a slight relaxation between Athens and Ankara. The two NATO countries had agreed to start a dialogue on energy in the Eastern Mediterranean. The rededication of Hagia Sophia had recently caused upset in the EU.
This time the Merkel government seems to be taking a very clear position: Ankara is also worsening relations with the European Union with the latest plan, said a spokesman for the Foreign Office on Monday in Berlin. "In that regard, further seismic exploration at this point is certainly the wrong signal," he said. The German government calls on Turkey and Greece to solve the problems through dialogue.
Turkey's search for natural gas south of the Greek islands is illegal from Athens' point of view because this region belongs to the so-called Exclusive Economic Zone of the EU country. The EU has also condemned these Turkish actions and asked Ankara to stop them. According to the Turkish interpretation, islands like Crete have territorial waters , but no exclusive economic zone . Athens has now signed an agreement with Egypt in which - in accordance with international law of the sea - Cairo recognizes that the islands do have such a zone.
Otherwise there is no shortage of foreign policy problem areas for the federal government: Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert commented on Monday (August 10) on the explosive situation in Belarus. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas plans to travel to Lebanon on Wednesday, which has been ravaged by a serious explosion and subsequent unrest. The record low of the Turkish national currency does not disturb Recep Tayyip Erdogan. ( dpa / fn )