Greece-Turkey tensions escalate as ship returns to disputed waters

Turkey’s two key Western allies, the United States and Germany, on Tuesday urged it to pull back a ship it has returned to waters contested with Greece, with Washington denouncing the “calculated provocation”.

The Turkish navy said Sunday that the Oruc Reis exploration vessel was heading back to energy-rich eastern Mediterranean waters between the Greek island of Crete and Cyprus, weeks after it left amid an agreement for talks.

In a strongly worded statement, the State Department said the US “deplores” the decision by Turkey and noted that Greece “asserts jurisdiction” over areas where the ship plans to operate through October 22.

“We urge Turkey to end this calculated provocation and immediately begin exploratory talks with Greece,” State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said.

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“Turkey’s announcement unilaterally raises tensions in the region and deliberately complicates the resumption of crucial exploratory talks between our Nato allies Greece and Turkey,” she said.

“Coercion, threats, intimidation and military activity will not resolve tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean.”

Turkey last sent the ship into contested waters in August backed by warships, alarming both Greece and Cyprus, which is partially occupied by Ankara.

Greece responded by staging military exercises but tensions eased when both Ankara and Athens agreed to talk through the crisis.

Greece said Tuesday there could be no diplomatic solution until the ship was withdrawn.

Greece “will not sit at the table for exploratory talks while the Oruc Reis and escorting warships are out there,” Minister of State George Gerapetritis said.

He said Athens would “emphatically” raise the dispute at a European council meeting starting Thursday.

Ankara says it redeployed the ship because Greece chose to hold military drills in the Aegean Sea on a Turkish national holiday

Turkey also hit back at the US statement, noting that Washington does not recognise the so-called Seville Map by Spanish scholars that is cited by Greece for its maritime claims.

“It is thus a serious contradiction for the US to criticise Oruc Reis’ seismic survey activities as carried out within the Turkish continental shelf,” a foreign ministry statement said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last month said the withdrawal of the ship was a chance to give diplomacy a chance.

But Turkish officials also insisted the ship was only undergoing planned maintenance.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, visiting Cyprus before heading to Greece, said that Turkey “must end the cycle of detente and provocation”.

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While France has staunchly backed Greece throughout the stand-off with Turkey, Germany had irked many Greeks in August with what they perceived as a low-key response by Europe’s largest economic power.

Erdogan has a cordial relationship with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has worked with Turkey both on stemming the flow of Syrian and other refugees into Europe and over the crisis in Libya.

Another Turkish survey ship is currently operating in waters where Cyprus claims exclusive economic rights.

Cyprus has pressed for tough action on Turkey, until recently exerting leverage on the European Union by holding up unrelated sanctions on Belarus over its crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

Erdogan has also cultivated close ties with US President Donald Trump, although Washington’s relationship has been growing with Greece, in part thanks to Athens’ warming ties with US ally Israel.

Under Erdogan, Turkey has been newly assertive on multiple fronts and has encouraged Azerbaijan’s campaign to wrest control of the Nagorno-Karabakh area from Armenia.

Additional reporting by Associated Press