In the past few weeks the relationships between Greece and the Turkey noticeably deteriorated. The reason is the escalating dispute over the Gas deposits in the Mediterranean. The Turkish government recently openly threatened the Greeks with military consequences in the event that it should expand its territorial waters in the Aegean Sea.
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Now the Turkish President has Recep Tayyip Erdogan tightened the tone towards Greece and France. The political leaders in Athens and Paris are “greedy for money” and “incompetent,” said the head of state in Ankara on Sunday.
“When it comes to fighting, we are ready to be martyrs,” Erdogan said in a speech. He added: “The question is: are those who rebel against us in the Mediterranean ready to make the same sacrifices?”
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“Do the Greek people accept the risk they are in because of their greedy and incompetent leaders?” Erdogan asked further. “Do the French people know the price they will have to pay for their greedy and incompetent leaders?”
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Ankara and Athens are fighting over recently discovered gas deposits in the eastern Mediterranean. Relations between the two NATO countries are therefore extremely tense. Given the situation, France has taken as a sign of its support for Greece strengthened its military presence in the eastern Mediterranean.
Turkish ship causes unrest in disputed sea area
The conflict has a long history. In 1995 the Turkish parliament declared an expansion of the Greek territorial waters in the Aegean as a “reason for war”.
The reason for the current aggravation of the situation was, among other things, the dispatch of the Turkish exploration ship “Oruc Reis” to a sea area claimed by Greece almost three weeks ago. The crew of the “Oruc Reis” is looking for natural gas there.
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According to the Turkish Ministry of Defense, Turkish fighter jets intercepted six Greek planes en route to the Mediterranean area where the ship is sailing on Thursday, forcing them to turn back.
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