The conflict between Greece and Turkey continues to heat up - due to provocations by Turkey.
Greece calls for support from the EU.
The situation between Turkey and Greece is tense.
Turkey provokes.
Greece is hoping for backing from the EU.
At the summit of the European Union, the Greek head of government wants to call for sanctions.
Athens / Ankara - The Greek Prime Minister
Kyriakos Mitsotakis
wants
to call for
sanctions
against Turkey
at the
EU summit
in Brussels on Thursday and Friday
.
This is a consequence of the renewed provocations on the part of Ankara, said government spokesman Stelios Petsas on the Greek television channel Skai on Wednesday.
The renewed dispatch of the Turkish research vessel "Oruc Reis" to the sea area south of the Greek islands of Kastelorizo and Rhodes is
"a serious escalation"
.
But that wasn't the only thing that bothered the government.
Turkey provocations against Greece: Mitsotakis wants consequences for Erdogan
According to information from the Greek
State Broadcasting Corporation
(ERT),
Turkish authorities
are said to have
forced the pilot of a plane with Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias on board to do around 20 minutes over the borders between Iraq and Turkey.
It was only after the pilot announced that he would soon run out of fuel to return to
Athens
that Ankara approved the onward flight through Turkish airspace.
Dendias
was on the return flight from Baghdad to Greece.
In
return, the
Turkish Foreign Ministry
accused
Greece of
willfully spreading untrue claims.
The Iraqi side had failed to inform the Eurocontrol air traffic control center about the flight plan.
There were no delays, it said.
The background to the
tension between Greece and Turkey
is a dispute over sovereignty and energy resources under the seabed in the eastern Mediterranean.
Most of the Greek media and Defense Ministry circles described the incident as "Ankara's harassment".
Erdogan provokes Greece in the dispute over natural gas resources
In the eastern Mediterranean, the dispute between Turkey and Greece over possible
natural gas deposits had
escalated
in recent months
.
Athens accuses Turkey of illegally searching for natural gas in waters of Greece's exclusive economic zone.
Ankara argues that the explored zones belong to the Turkish continental shelf and that Turkey has a right to the explorations.
Video: Erdogan is involved: Before the runoff election in Northern Cyprus
The
Turkey
and the drillship "Yavuz" will send out after the controversial deployment of a gas-research vessel to the eastern Mediterranean.
Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
said
on Wednesday (October 14) in
Ankara
"after its maintenance work for new wells will break into the Mediterranean
."
A fleet will accompany the drill ship to ensure its safety.
Heiko Maas relies on direct talks in the conflict between Turkey and Greece
After Germany mediated, Athens and Ankara agreed to start exploratory talks to solve the problem.
However, Turkey has again sent a research ship to the areas that are being disputed.
Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas
expressed his disappointment with this development during a visit to Athens on Tuesday.
In #Greece, I had very open and friendly conversations with Prime Minister @kmitsotakis and Foreign Minister @NikosDendias about the difficult situation in the Eastern Mediterranean.
One thing is clear: despite the provocation by # Turkey, we need direct talks.
pic.twitter.com/9qzhvV3QFM
- Heiko Maas 🇪🇺 (@HeikoMaas) October 13, 2020
Maas
wrote on Twitter
that he had "very open and friendly discussions" with the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister of Greece.
“One thing is clear: despite the provocation by Turkey, we need direct talks,” the Federal Foreign Minister said on Twitter on Tuesday.
(lb with dpa) * Merkur.de is part of the Ippen digital network