Turkey plans new naval drills in eastern Mediterranean
The Turkish navy will hold live-fire exercises in the eastern Mediterranean next week amid rising tensions with Greece.
Turkey is planning live-fire military drills in the eastern Mediterranean Sea next week amid its escalating standoff with Greece over energy exploration rights in the contested waters.
An advisory issued by the Turkish navy on Thursday announced the shooting exercises will take place Sept. 1-2 off Turkey’s southern Mediterranean coast, northeast of Cyprus. Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar described the drills as "security related."
NATO members Ankara and Athens both claim maritime rights in a part of the sea containing possible offshore gas reserves. Tensions escalated this month after Greece inked a maritime border arrangement with Egypt establishing an exclusive economic zone in the same area of the Mediterranean that Turkey claims as its own.
After the Egypt-Greece deal, Turkey announced it would extend the exploratory mission of its seismic research ship and the naval vessels escorting it between the islands of Crete and Cyprus. Greece responded by scheduling nearby naval exercises off Crete.
