Athens is on diplomatic as well as military alertness to deal with any Turkish provocation.
Ankara sets the stage for a new round of tensions with the exit of the floating drilling rig Abdulhamid Khan in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The ship is expected to set sail on Tuesday from the port of Tasuku in Mersin in the presence of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who, 24 hours before sailing, took care to give the impression of Ankara’s intentions. “Until today we have not allowed any planning or action in our areas of jurisdiction without our participation and we will not allow it in the future either,” said the Turkish president.
Our country is fully prepared for all eventualities, at the military and diplomatic level. The president of Turkey spoke of “areas of Turkish responsibility” and according to information, illegal permits were given by the occupied territories to the Turkish oil company, which indicates that the drilling rig will move in the area of the Cypriot EEZ, at least for now. Greece is not complacent, and is taking measures, conducting exercises over the last 10 days with the US, Israel, Egypt, France, in a critical area south of Kastellorizos, and the Cypriot forces.
At the same time, Athens maintains open lines with all allies so that there is coordination so that answers can be given depending on the size of the challenge that the Turkish side will attempt. A few hours before the departure of the Turkish drilling rig, Abdulhamid Khan, the Greek side turns its gaze to three possible points of development of the Turkish drilling rig, in occupied Karpasia, in plot 6 or, even further west on the Greek continental shelf, thus escalating the tension with Greece.
“Any tension it causes will not just be bilateral, it will be seen as playing Putin’s game by fracturing the unity of the Western alliance. But I think the most important thing is to limit it to a sea around the northern side of Cyprus, we will see, of course, I repeat that we are on full alert,” ND MP and internationalist Dimitris Kairidis told SKAI.
“Drilling is a different class, size, challenge in connection with the Oruch Reis and a seismograph that uses a sonar to survey the bottom of the sea. This is also very heavy, but the drilling rig, and this is how it is recognized by international law as well as the resolutions of the UN Security Council, is a fait accompli that is being created, a hole I want to say in the Greek continental shelf” the ND MP underlined.
Mevlut Cavusoglu also added to the provocative rhetoric, hurling baseless accusations against Athens and Nicosia while also referring to the Turkish drilling rig.
“An important factor in our policy in the Eastern Mediterranean is our sovereign rights. The duo of Greece and Greek Cypriots attempted to send 9 ships to our continental shelf. We prevented these with the measures we took both on the front and at the table. and tomorrow the Abdulhamid ship will sail for its first operations in the Mediterranean” said the Turkish Foreign Minister defiantly.
On the eve of Abdulhamid Khan’s departure, Ankara also reinstates its revisionist rhetoric, with the Mevlut Cavusoglu to question again the sovereignty of the Greek islands.
“We have told and explained to our interlocutors, especially the UN, that the islands that are close to our shores, and have a demilitarized status according to international treaties, are now militarized. We will continue to deal with this issue, which is of critical importance for security of our country” said Cavusoglu.
“It is a very difficult balance exercise, but the country is much better prepared than 2020, and the international community also knows much better what is happening now with Turkish behavior,” International Relations professor Panteio Kostas Yfantis told SKAI.
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