“The time of the big guys is over. You have no chance of getting anything from us by doing this, ”said Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar.
By Le Figaro with AFP
–Turkey announced Thursday, August 27, the upcoming holding of new military exercises in the eastern Mediterranean and accused France of increasing tensions between Ankara and Athens which are fighting over maritime areas rich in hydrocarbons.
In a maritime notice (Navtex) published Thursday, the Turkish navy indicated that it would carry out “shooting exercises»On 1 and 2 September off Iskenderun, in an area north-east of the island of Cyprus. Despite calls for de-escalation, rival military maneuvers, including Turkish and American warships on one side, and Greek, Cypriot, French and Italian vessels on the other, took place in the eastern Mediterranean on Wednesday.
The discovery of large gas fields in recent years has exacerbated old disputes between Greece and Turkey over their maritime borders. “We will continue these activities (research for hydrocarbons) as long as necessary. There is no deadlineTurkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Thursday in an interview with Turkish state news agency Anadolu.
Turkey was not that “which causes instability»
In a telephone interview with Turkish Head of State Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump expressed his concern about “the rise in tensions between the two NATO allies“, According to the White House. Erdogan said in the same interview that Turkey was not the one “which caused instability in the eastern Mediterranean», According to Ankara.
Hulusi Akar also accused France on Thursday of contributing to the escalation in the eastern Mediterranean by deploying war planes to Cyprus to express support for Athens. “The time of the big guys is over. You have no chance of getting anything from us by doing this», He affirmed. Akar further called on Greece for direct dialogue with Turkey. “Our Greek neighbors should know that they will not be able to obtain anything by calling on countries like France (…) We, the Turks and the Greeks, must solve our problems ourselves through dialogue».
See also – Mediterranean: Erdogan assures that Turkey will make “no concessions”
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