Greece on Tuesday demanded that Turkey withdraw a research ship at the heart of their growing dispute over maritime rights and warned it would defend its sovereignty, calling for an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers to resolve the crisis.
Tensions were stoked Monday when Ankara dispatched the research ship Oruc Reis accompanied by Turkish naval vessels off the Greek island of Kastellorizo in the eastern Mediterranean.
The incident is the latest spat over energy exploration in the gas-rich eastern Mediterranean, a frequent source of disputes between Turkey and neighbours including Greece, Cyprus and Israel. "Apparently the developments on the ground unfortunately show that... more needs to be done in order to defuse the tensions and reverse the very negative and unfortunate trend of escalation," spokesman Peter Stano told reporters.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Tuesday his country would step up energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean and would not "compromise" its rights. "We will defend the rights of Turkey... in the eastern Mediterranean and we will not compromise in any way on this," he said. Borrell on Sunday called Turkey's actions "extremely worrying" and a recipe for "greater antagonism and distrust".
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