Turkey’s aggressive oil exploration in areas of the east Mediterranean claimed by Greece and Cyprus is visibly setting teeth on edge in the European Union and the United States. “We urge Turkey to end this calculated provocation and immediately begin exploratory talks with Greece,” U.S. State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a terse statement last week.
“Coercion, threats, intimidation and military activity will not resolve tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean,” the statement said.
“Ankara must end the cycle of detente and provocation if the government is interested in talks,” said Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, whose country heads the EU’s rotating presidency. Maas, who dramatically canceled his planned visit to Turkey, said he was “extremely surprised” by its latest moves.
The American and European responses refer to Turkey’s leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s announcement that he would extend the geological oil survey in one of the marine blocks near Turkey to October 27th. The area in question is in Greece’s territorial waters. In a previous announcement Turkey said the survey was supposed to end on Thursday. Indeed, Turkey seemed to be taking the international pressure into consideration and is ready to return to the discussion table. But Erdogan had other plans.
The talk of imposing economic sanctions or a military embargo on Turkey unless it stops looking for oil and gas in contested areas has increased in recent weeks. But when EU leaders gathered for a summit last Friday, the issue was almost not broached, and Greece had to apply massive pressure to put it on the agenda.
The EU summit yielded firm and resolved declarations, but the leaders made it clear to Greece that it had better wait with the discussion of sanctions for the summit scheduled for December. The division between Germany, Spain, Italy, Malta and Hungary, who object to sanctions, and France is playing into Erdogan’s hands. The five states are afraid of a new wave of refugees that Erdogan can send their way if they impose the sanctions.
Turkey Doesn’t Have the Economic Bite to Back Up Erdogan’s Bark
Source : haaretz.com
