Erdogan insists on violating Greece’s maritime domain after Black Sea gas lie

Hossam al-Haddad

The Turkish opposition has exposed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s lies about gas discoveries, which the Turkish president resorts to with the approach of any elections in his country, whether presidential or legislative, which has been repeated five times within 10 years. Now, a new lie has appeared, this time regarding the discovery of a gas field in the Black Sea sufficient to cover Turkey’s needs for a period of no less than 10 years. However, this has been denied by Turkish economic and energy experts.

After the opposition exposed Erdogan’s lies, he tried to win electoral votes and restore his popularity by continuing to threaten Greece against the backdrop of his insistence on gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean despite international criticism.

On Monday, August 24, Erdogan said that the Turkish navy would not retreat from its positions in the eastern Mediterranean while “(Greece) spread chaos” there.

The two countries have sent frigates amid an escalating war of words due to competing demands for entitlement to energy resources.

Following a cabinet meeting, Erdogan said, “Those who cast Greece in front of the Turkish Navy will not stand behind them.”

“Athens has no right to broadcast navigation advisories known as Navtex in the areas claimed by Ankara,” he added.

“Greece has announced its navigation advisories illegally and in a crude manner,” he said, adding that “Greece is spreading chaos that it will not be able to escape from.”

Erdogan’s threats against Greece are angering the European Union, amid calls for an end to Ankara’s actions that strike against all international decisions rejecting the illegal exploration operations.

Turkey has extended the exploration mission carried out by the ship Oruç Reis in a disputed area in the eastern Mediterranean until August 27, thus fueling tension in the region, as Athens describes the exploration as illegal.

Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas told reporters on Monday that Greece has issued navigation advisories that will also expire on August 27.

“Greece is responding calmly with readiness on the diplomatic and practical levels. It will do whatever is necessary to defend its sovereign rights,” he added.

There are severe differences between Turkey and Greece, both NATO members, over the sovereignty of oil and gas resources in the region, based on conflicting views about the extension of the continental shelf of each of the two countries in the waters that are dominated by islands, most of them Greek.

On the other hand, the Turkish Ministry of Defense said that a naval exercise involving ships from the Turkish Navy and the navies of allied countries began in the eastern Mediterranean on August 25.

In the face of Turkey’s violations, Egypt this month signed an agreement with Greece to demarcate the maritime borders to take advantage of the wealth existing in the exclusive economic zone between the two countries.

On Tuesday, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas traveled to Athens and then to Ankara, with the aim of calming the situation between Greece and Turkey.

“It is imperative that Germany remain in dialogue with the two parties, [because] the goal is for Greece and Turkey to solve their differences directly,” German government spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters.

“These [mediation] efforts are necessary” to calm down and “find a solution to tensions,” said German Foreign Ministry spokesman Christopher Burger.

Maas met his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias, as well as Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, before meeting his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara.

“We fear that tensions will continue to affect relations between Turkey and the European Union, and that further escalation will have dire consequences,” Burger said.

In response to a question about the German minister’s visit to Athens during a press conference Monday, Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas said that any initiative taken by Germany, as a great power in Europe, “will be of special importance,” but added that “Turkey must prove its credibility.”

In the context of his discussion of foreign files, Erdogan criticized the statements of the Democratic candidate for the US presidency, Joe Biden, about Turkey, noting that American politics is “a prisoner of a sick mentality that prefers dealing with terrorist organizations rather than the rule of law and democracy.”

Speaking about terrorist organizations, Erdogan meant the relationship between Washington and Kurdish groups in Syria. However, it is Ankara that has distinguished relations with jihadist groups, as it has sent many of mercenaries to fight in Libya alongside the Government of National Accord (GNA) militias.

The Turkish president added that the mentality that ignored terrorist attacks on Turkey, waited impatiently for the result of the coup attempt, and embraced all the revolutionaries after their defeat is “a disgrace to democracy.”

Erdogan pointed out that the Turkish opposition focused on the reason for his months-long delay in highlighting Biden’s statements instead of displaying a strong reaction against them at the time.

Ten days ago, media circulated statements made by Biden last December, in which he called for cooperation with the Turkish opposition to “bring down” Erdogan.

Erdogan wants to make his regime appear as a victim and that his rule is targeted by Biden, in an attempt to win domestic sympathy that is difficult to attain.