Because of oil and gas, the waters of the Mediterranean are getting hotter every day, as Turkey’s attempts to control the Mediterranean region and to start implementing its plans to explore for oil and gas after it has concluded the maritime and security agreement with the Government of National Accord sparked the protest of Greece, which expressed its concerns about geographical and strategic factors because of the position of many of its islands in the region that Turkey is planning to make an economic zone.
Media reports talked about Greece warning of a strict reaction to Ankara’s plans to explore for oil and gas in the Mediterranean region, as it expressed its willingness to bear what it described as the Turkish provocation, according to what was reported by the Foreign Minister in the past, warning of his country’s response to the start of Turkey’s exploration in Greek waters .
The Greek escalation towards Ankara has started to increase since the reports of the Turkish government’s oil company obtaining a license from its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to start the process of oil and gas exploration in 24 locations in the eastern Mediterranean, which prompted Athens to say explicitly through its Foreign Minister Nikos Dundas that it will defend its territorial integrity and its sovereign rights as stipulated in the Charter of the United Nations, stressing in statements made in the middle of this month that his country will work to escalate the situation if Turkey tries to violate the Greek continental waters.
The Greek Foreign Ministry’s statements were supported by the Chief of Staff of the Greek National Defense, who said that his country will not tolerate any violation of its sovereignty and that whoever stands against the Greek armed forces will face the consequences, in reference to the possibility of a military response to Turkey’s movements that are working on daily pressure in the Aegean Sea.
An escalated stance towards the exploration process may be directed, according to media sources, which said the Greece’s actions include taking deterrent measures against what it described as the hostile actions of confronting the continuous patrols of ships and submarines on the eastern edge of the Greek archipelago.
Meanwhile, the seriousness of Greece in the application of its reactions is what will clarify whether there were military clashes between Athens and Turkey in the waters of the Mediterranean.
