The drilling rig will move in an area that belongs to the Turkish continental shelf and is outside the Exclusive Economic Zone of Cyprus.
By Antonis Anzoletou
For another summer, Turkey threatens Greece with a thermal episode, although the development of the floating drilling rig “Abdulhamid Khan” south of Gazi Pasha is currently characterized as a low-intensity movement. The irritation of Ankara after the statements of German Foreign Minister Analena Berbock in Athens about Greek sovereignty over the islands is more than obvious. The Turkish president made sure to keep a high tone early on, unleashing threats and provocations against Greece. Erdogan spoke again about the “Blue Homeland” and emphasized that “we don’t need to get anyone’s permission or approval because the drilling we do is in our own sovereign areas.”
Where will it be?
The drilling rig will move in an area that belongs to the Turkish continental shelf and is outside the Exclusive Economic Zone of Cyprus. It is expected to drill the subsea well “Yorukler-1” 55 kilometers south of Antalya. It will remain in the area for a long time, until October 7, when a new NAVTEX will be issued. It is recalled that Ankara has announced the investigation of six more points for which it claims to have seismographic data. What does this mean; How “Abdulhamid Khan” will start drilling and if findings are made then Tayyip Erdoğan will give an order to return to the area of interest in order to drill again. Or at least that’s what they claim until now in order to keep the intensity in the red.
Instrumentation
However, more than exploiting deposits in the region, Tayyip Erdoğan seems to want to send a double message. First to his audience, how he is still the strong player in the south-eastern Mediterranean. He wants to stimulate the nationalist sentiment of his compatriots who supported him in the last election and are now wavering. It is a given, after all, that only in crisis conditions would the Turkish president be able to change the bad poll climate and win the elections again. Secondly, he wants to declare to the Greek Cypriot side that he does not intend to give up the “plots” that he has had his eye on for years.
Readiness
In Athens they maintain a waiting attitude. It is believed that Ankara chose to send the drilling rig first to undisputed waters in order to see what the Greek reactions will be, as well as those of the allies and particularly Washington. The issue is what will happen if the next NAVTEX bring “Abdulhamid Khan” even further west to the borders of the Greek continental shelf or even within the demarcation agreed between Athens and Cairo. Most analysts believe that such a thing is difficult to happen and the predictions of the USA that there will not be any incident between Greece and Turkey in the near future will be confirmed.
The armed forces are on high alert with part of the fleet out of order. Since some consider “Abdulhamid Khan” to be a sequel to Oruch Reis, which caused a lot of problems in 2020, it could not be otherwise. It is absolutely clear that if it decides to move into an area of potential Greek sovereignty, Greece is ready to react. At the same time, the Greek government is in constant communication with its allies in the wider region, while an open line exists with Brussels and Washington.
Akar challenges again
In this climate, by landing in Kastelorizo, Hulusi Akar threatens Athens. The Minister of Defense of the neighbor on the day of the exit of the floating drilling rig “Abdulhamid Khan” did not hesitate to exceed the digs” as emphasized by sources of the Armed Forces who characterize his rhetoric as “unacceptable”. “This island, Kastelorizo, is 580 kilometers from the mainland of Greece, while it is only 1950 meters from us. It is within swimming distance of the students of our military academies,” Akar said and continued: “If God wills, one day this too can happen.” The government representative responded to the delusion of the Turkish Defense Minister, declaring that “we are not willing to take a step back in terms of our sovereign rights and our national sovereignty.” Competent sources claim that Akar’s threats, apart from the fact that they are nothing new, are part of the general climate of tension cultivated by Turkey in recent days, showing its irritation at Greece’s armament superiority.
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