Germany calls for end to east Mediterranean military drills
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Germany's foreign minister on Thursday called for an end to military drills taking place in the eastern Mediterranean to defuse tensions and create conditions for NATO allies Greece and Turkey to resolve a dispute over offshore energy exploration rights.
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas' comments came as European Union foreign ministers were set to meet in Berlin to try and persuade EU-member Greece and its neighbor Turkey to pull back from the brink of a conflict. The ministers were expected to debate a range of sanctions and other policy options that might convince Turkey to temper its insistence on drilling for energy reserves in disputed parts of the eastern Mediterranean.
Maas, who engaged in shuttle diplomacy between Athens and Ankara earlier this week, stressed the need to “create the conditions for Turkey and Greece to resolve their problems directly with each other.”
“The situation remains very difficult,” Maas said. “The precondition for these talks is that the maneuvers that are going on in the eastern Mediterranean be ended -- each side can make its contribution to that and so create the space for diplomatic talks, because for sure the parties won’t sit down at the table if warships are facing off in the eastern Mediterranean.”
Tensions between Greece and Turkey have been running high for weeks after Turkey sent its survey vessel, Oruc Reis, to carry out seismic research, escorted by Turkish warships. Athens, which says the ship is operating over Greece’s continental shelf in an area where it has exclusive rights on potential undersea gas and oil deposits, sent warships to observe and track the Turkish flotilla.
Turkey disputes Greece’s claims, insisting that small Greek islands near the Turkish coast shouldn't be taken into account when delineating maritime...
