DM Monitoring
ISTANBUL: Tensions between two NATO allies, Turkey and Greece, have flared up over energy explorations in the Eastern Mediterranean amid calls for diplomacy to de-escalate what could prove a potentially dangerous face-off.
Turkey dispatched a research ship and two auxiliary navy vessels to a disputed region on Monday, near the island of Meis also known as Kastellorizo.
The Turkish move comes three days after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was tired of waiting for the outcome of talks held last month with Greece and the European Union’s rotating president Germany. The arrival of the vessels prompted Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to confer with his military chiefs on Monday, and following the meeting, the Greek foreign ministry described the Turkish move as a “serious escalation.” Experts said both Greece and Turkey are engaged in a “security dilemma” to impose on each other their security strategies.
“Problems between Turkey and Greece can be explained by the concept of the security dilemma. Both countries are engaged in diplomatic and military moves to consolidate their security understandings and protect their national interests,” Birgul Demirtas, a scholar from Istanbul’s Turkish-German University, told Xinhua.
This professor of international relations argued that policymakers in both nations are using a nationalistic rhetoric to justify their regional alliances and efforts for hydrocarbon explorations.
Amid the ongoing war of words and saber-rattling between the two neighbors, Erdogan on Monday appealed for an “acceptable formula” for energy exploration rights in the Eastern Mediterranean.
“Let’s come together with all the countries in the Mediterranean. Let’s find a formula that is acceptable to everyone and protects everyone’s rights,” the Turkish leader told reporters at a press conference after a cabinet meeting.
“We are always there and ready to resolve conflicts through dialogue and equity,” he said, noting Turkey will continue to implement its plans in the field and through diplomacy in the Mediterranean “until common sense prevails on this issue.” The disputed area is close to Turkey, but Greece lays claim to it under international law.
Turkey says the rules are unfair since only Greece has rights to the waters because of a few tiny islands that expand its legal reach.
The EU appears to be siding with its member Greece in the dispute, as the bloc’s Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell on Sunday called Turkey’s actions “extremely worrying.” The EU does not have an “impartial stance” in this particular conflict as its two members, Greece and Cyprus, are both against Turkey, according to Demirtas.
Observers point to the complexity of international maritime law, which is at the root of clashing arguments in the East Mediterranean. “If our interest clashes with those of other nations, we should invite them to explain our arguments,” said Nusret Guner, former chief of the Turkish navy.
“We should always try to reach a settlement by diplomatic means, if it doesn’t work, only then the military will enter the scene,” he noted.
However, the contradictions arise from different interpretations of the law, said Deniz Baran, a scholar from Istanbul University’s International Law Department.
The Turkish move to begin exploratory drilling activities in the region comes amid its anger over a deal signed between Greece and Egypt on creating economic zones for drilling rights and maritime boundaries, which Turkey claims is intended to keep Ankara out of the Eastern Mediterranean.
Last year, Turkey signed a similar deal with the UN-backed Libyan government in Tripoli, sparking outrage in Greece, Cyprus and Egypt, which they all said infringed on their economic rights in the Mediterranean.
Greece and Turkey have been at odds for decades over a wide variety of issues including sea boundaries, and came to the brink of war over disputed inhabited islands in the Aegean Sea in 1996.
