Germany and Malta have urged Turkey and rival European and regional powers to calm their dispute over maritime lands and energy resources as such disputes threaten to destabilize the Mediterranean region.
These remarks came during a meeting between German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and his Greek and Turkish counterparts Tuesday, in an attempt to alleviate tensions in the wake of Turkey’s decision to undertake a new sea exploration mission to search for gas in a move that angered Greece and Cyprus.
The calls for deescalation came at a time when France deployed warships and combat aircraft earlier this month, and Athens warned that the risk of an accidental escalation between the countries concerned was rising.
European Union foreign ministers are scheduled to discuss developments in the eastern Mediterranean at an informal meeting in Berlin this week, before talks by the bloc leaders at a summit in Brussels next September, amid disputes over Turkey within the European Union.
So far, there have been largely symbolic sanctions on Ankara’s energy campaigns in waters off Cyprus, while demands by Greece and Cyprus to take a tougher stance against Ankara have won increasing support from France, many other EU member states are reluctant to undermine them.
It is noteworthy that the dynamics of the eastern Mediterranean conflict are further complicated by the overlapping of international alliances, as Turkey is a member of NATO, but it is not a member of the European Union, while Malta and Cyprus are members of the European bloc, but they are not in the military alliance, yet Greece and France are members of both.