Turkey to respond harshly if Greece tries to extend its territorial waters

Gulettes, the traditional and popular cruise vessels in Turkey, sail toward the Greek island of Leros on the second day of The Bodrum Cup, off the shores of Bodrum in the Aegean Sea, Turkey, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2018. Photo: AAP via AP/Burhan Ozbilici

1 November 2018 2:37pm

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Turkey’s Defense Minister Hulusi Akar cautioned Greece in a speech during an entrepreneurs event on Wednesday (local time) that Ankara is adamant about defending its “rights in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean”.

Mr Akar referred to Turkey as “blue homeland” as its waters extend from the Aegean to the Eastern Mediterranean and include Cyprus.

“We continue our struggle in our blue homeland. We clarify that this concerns the Aegean, the Eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus and elsewhere,” he said.

“There is also the exclusive economic zone, and this is important (…) we will defend our rights under international law, good conduct and good neighborliness and we will not give up on any of them.”

“We are determined to defend the rights of the Turkish Republic and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and we will not take steps back. We have told this to our counterparts at every opportunity. We have taken all the necessary measures and will continue taking them,” he added.

Regarding the long-standing rivalry between Greek and Turkish borders, Omer Celik, spokesperson for Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) said that Greece cannot extend its territorial waters in the Aegean from 6 to 12 nautical miles.

“Turkey will respond harshly if Greece tries to gradually extend its territorial waters,” he said highlighting that such a move from Athens will be a casus belli (case for war).

Meanwhile, ExxonMobil begins drilling operations in Block 10 in Cyprus’s exclusive economic zone while Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) has begun operations in the Eastern Mediterranean with its deepwater drillship Fatih.

Turkey is planning to build its own drilling machine, TPAO’s president and director Melih Han Bilgin told a Turkish parliamentary committee on Wednesday.

In the light of this rhetoric, Nemesis 2018 aeronautical exercise commenced yesterday, a joint effort between Cyprus, Greece, Israel, the US, France and the UK aspiring to secure the presence of third powers in the Eastern Mediterranean region in view of the Turkish threats, Kathimerini reports.