As Sky had revealed, the areas pledged coincide with the illegal Turkish-Libyan memorandum, which Israel disputes
With the permission of Athens, Israel committed two sea areas south of Crete for military exercises, sending a message of support to the Greek positions.
As the newspaper “Ta Nea” reports, the areas, which were reserved for the period from July 26 to August 5 for exercises of the Israeli Navy, coincide with the illegal Turkish-Libyan memorandum, which Israel disputes.
Therefore, the request from the Israeli side that Sky had revealed it is a clear message from the allies in favor of legality, while it directly disputes the objections of Ankara, which accuses Greece of being an alleged violator of international law.
Israel’s move comes at a time when Ankara is preparing for the departure of the Turkish drilling rig “Abdul Hamid Khan”, possibly on August 9, and statements by Recep Tayyip Erdogan are expected on the drilling rig’s destination.
Turkey issued anti-NAVTEX
At the same time, Ankara, with NAVTEX, reserved areas between Rhodes – Karpathos and Kastellorizo for its own aviation exercise on August 3.
According to its standard practice, Ankara disputes Greek NAVTEX, which has also been issued for exercises in the same area.
Ankara is talking about an “encirclement” of the Eastern Mediterranean region that is being attempted and must be “broken”, according to Turkish media.
Greece invests in its alliances
Given the challenges, Athens is investing in its alliances and especially in those it has created with tripartite and multilateral schemes, in which Cyprus also participates. After all, according to the prevailing scenario, the Turkish drilling rig will head to the Cypriot EEZ.
Israel, according to Pentagon sources, participated in the multinational exercise Medusa and other joint exercises, while it had a role in the “Oruch Reis” crisis.
At the same time, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias and the Minister of National Defense Nikos Panagiotopoulos are on an open line with Israel.
After all, Mr. Panagiotopoulos, in his recent meeting at the Economist conference in Athens, met with his counterpart and Deputy Prime Minister Benny Gatz, confirming the close ties and strategic cooperation of the two countries.
In other words, even if Turkey seeks rapprochement with Israel, the latter’s relations with Greece will not be affected.
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