‘If you want to confront us, go ahead,’ says Erdoğan amid Eastern Mediterranean crisis
* Erdoğan was presented with a gift to mark the anniversary of the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. Photo: AA
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President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has spoken at the ceremony marking the 949th anniversary of the Battle of Manzikert in Turkey's eastern province of Muş.
Commenting on the escalating tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, especially between Greece and Turkey, Erdoğan has said:
"If we say that we will do it, then we do it and pay its price. If there are those who want to confront us at the risk of paying a price, go ahead and do it. But if you do not want to do it, then do not stand in our way."
The statement of Erdoğan has come after Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas first visited Greece, then Turkey yesterday (August 25) to ease the tensions between the two neighboring countries.
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'Those unworthy of even Byzantine heritage...'
As reported by the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA), President Erdoğan has further said that "Turkey has no designs on anyone's lands, sovereignty, but will not make concessions on its rights."
"Turkey will take whatever belongs to it in the Mediterranean, as well as Aegean and the Black Sea," he has added.
"Turkey has no designs on any other country's lands, sovereignty, or interests, but it will never make concessions on what rightfully belongs to it," Erdoğan has reiterated and urged "everyone to avoid making missteps which could lead to their destruction," speaking amid disputes with Greece on maritime territory and energy resources.
"Those unworthy of even the Byzantine heritage today commit injustices and piratical moves counting on the support of Europeans, which shows that they have failed to learn from history," Erdoğan has said.
These comments have also followed Turkey's natural gas discovery in the Black Sea and ongoing conflict in Eastern Mediterranean with Greece. Erdoğan announced on August 21 that Turkey has found some 320 billion cubic meters of natural gas reserves with its drill ship Fatih.
Efforts to ease tension in the Mediterranean
During his meeting with Heiko Maas seeking to mediate the Mediterranean dispute, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu expressed "a willingness to engage in dialogue," but also objected to "the actions of Greece raising tensions in the region." Before Maas' visit, Turkey and later Greece sent out conflicting alerts on military exercises in the Mediterranean.
Turkey has been opposing Greece's efforts to declare an exclusive economic zone based on small islands near Turkey's shores.
Ankara has also said that energy resources near Cyprus must be shared fairly between the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and the Greek Cypriot administration of Southern Cyprus.
Latest developments in the Eastern MediterraneanThe tension between Turkey and Greece over their right to explore energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean has seriously escalated over the last months. The latest developments leading to this escalation are briefly as follows: On July 28, Turkey announced that it suspended hydrocarbon exploration activities in the Eastern Mediterranean and stated that it was ready to talk with Greece. On August 6, Greece and Egypt signed a maritime border agreement. On August 10, Turkey announced that its drillship Oruç Reis would resume energy exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean. It said the ship will continue its work along with the ships Cengiz Han and Ataman until August 23. On August 14, the EU foreign miniters discussed the crisis at an extraordinary meeting, calling on Turkey to end hydrocarbon exploration activities in contested waters. On August 16, Turkey issued a Navtex, announcing that its drill ship Yavuz will continue its work exploring for energy resources off the island of Cyprus. On August 23, Turkey issued another Navtex, stating that the Oruç Reis vessel would continue its activities until August 27. On August 24, Greece held joint naval drills with the US in the south of Crete island. On August 25, Germany's Minister of Foreign Affairs Heiko Maas visited Athens and Ankara to encourage the two countires to have direct talks. |
(AS/SD)