Turkey challenges the EU with military maneuvers in the eastern Mediterranean

The European fleet during its maneuvers in the eastern Mediterranean, last Tuesday.Greek defense ministry / AP

Turkey announced this Thursday that it will carry out military exercises in the eastern Mediterranean, a measure that comes a day after the air-naval exercises that Greece, Cyprus, Italy and France jointly hold. According to Ankara, the maneuvers will be carried out with live fire on September 1 and 2 off the coast of Iskenderun, a town located in the south-west of the country and very close to North Cyprus (occupied by Turkey since 1974). Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has made it clear that his country will not be deterred by the show of force carried out by the four European countries near its coasts and has warned that “Turkey's power must not be put on trial ”, reiterating that his government is capable of protecting its own rights and interests. “They can do drills, but our boundaries and principles are clear. If they are violated, we will do what is appropriate, "he said in an interview with the government agency Anadolu.

Even using warlike language to refer to the events, the minister has also called for calm, stressing that "we want peace, but we also want our rights" and the desire to solve the problem through dialogue. But he warned: "unwanted incidents can occur and we have plans for it."

In this way, Turkey especially accuses France of further heating up the tense environment with military maneuvers that include exercises contrary to what was agreed in the 1960 treaties on the island of Cyprus. According to the Turkish Foreign spokesman, Hami Aksoy, "the landing of a French military aircraft in the Greek Cypriot area under the pretext of an exercise carried out with Cyprus, Greece and Italy, and the temporary or permanent deployment of these aircraft on the island is in against the treaties, "he said in a statement.

That is why Aksoy has asserted that Paris's attitude is responsible for further intensifying tensions in the eastern Mediterranean. France and Greece will deploy fighter jets and Navy ships as part of the drills, while Cyprus will activate its air defense system to test its capabilities, the Cypriot Defense Ministry announced.

And while all the countries involved show their military attributes, the Turkish gas exploration continues. Given the escalation of tensions, which have already crossed the dispatch line, Ankara has reported that the Oruc Reis ship , in charge of carrying out the investigations, will extend its mission until September 1. If originally this was supposed to end precisely this Thursday, Turkey has extended the deadline for another four days.

Turkey has decided to carry out seismic surveys in the eastern Mediterranean with the primary objective of finding hydrocarbons, an action that Athens classifies as illegal because it is carried out in waters it claims. Ankara is also carrying out investigations in the Black Sea, where they found 320,000 cubic meters of gas this month, a finding cataloged by the same Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as the beginning of "a new era" for Turkey.