Turkey said it has prevented nine Greek and Cypriot naval units from entering the country’s continental shelf, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told a diplomacy conference on Monday (Greece time), a day before a new Turkish drillship is set to leave the Mediterranean port of Mersin.
It was unclear if, where or when this alleged incident took place. Mr Cavusoglu reiterated his country’s demand that Greece “demilitarise its Aegean islands off the Turkish coast.”
“We will continue to raise this issue which is fundamental to the security of our country,” he said.
“In the Aegean, we want any interrelated problems to be dealt with in a comprehensive manner,” he said, while criticising Greece of lacking a culture of problem solving.
Cavusoglu’s comments contrast Turkey’s provocative act of sending the Abdulhamid Han drilling vessel to the Greek Eastern Mediterranean. This act has escalated conflict in the already tense region.