European Union welcomes departure of Turkish prospecting vessel from Eastern Mediterranean
The tension in the eastern Mediterranean is relaxing at times. The European Union (EU) has welcomed on Monday the withdrawal of a vessel with which Turkey was prospecting for oil in waters claimed by Cyprus.
The Union sees this gesture as a step towards reducing tensions between Turkey, Cyprus and Greece in the Eastern Mediterranean and hopes that further steps will be taken in this direction.
"The departure of the Yavuz ship is another step we are celebrating towards reducing tension in the eastern Mediterranean," said spokesman Peter Stano at the European Commission's (EC) daily press conference, adding that they hope to see more measures in this direction.
At last week's extraordinary summit, the heads of state and government took a long time to agree on whether or not to sanction Ankara, and postponed the decision to another summit in December. The only thing they could agree on was to raise the tone against Turkey and to ask unanimously for "reducing the tension in that area".
Stano stressed that the EU wants "a constructive relationship with Turkey, to continue the dialogue and cooperation". The EU's relations with Turkey have many intertwined interests. Especially with regard to the migration crisis and the supply of gas and oil.
The EU had considered in mid-September that the Turkish decision to extend the activities of the Yavuz in south-western Cyprus until 12 October would "fuel further tensions and insecurity" in the eastern Mediterranean. "All actions that can contribute to the reduction of tensions and to cooperation are welcome, and we hope to continue on this path of constructive engagement and dialogue," Stano concluded.
Since the beginning of the summer, the Yavuz has been operating in the sea between Cyprus and Crete, after the Libyan government of Fayez Sarraj gave it permission to use its waters. But Turkey ended up sailing within the limits of the areas of economic exclusivity that overlap with those declared by Greece and Cyprus.
In August France sent ships to the eastern Mediterranean to support Greece and Cyprus by exerting pressure with its military presence. After a point of unsustainable tension was reached in the summer, Turkey started to turn back. It has also recently withdrawn another ship (the Oruç Reis) that was prospecting in waters that Greece claims to be of economic interest.
On Monday the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) stressed to Turkey that the crisis in the eastern Mediterranean that is pitting it against Greece and Cyprus should be addressed "solely" through dialogue, following the rapprochement promoted by NATO, with which Ankara and Athens have designed a mechanism to prevent military friction.
"I strongly hope that the underlying disputes can now be addressed solely through negotiations," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a press conference in Ankara with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Stoltenberg began a tour of Turkey and Greece on Monday to discuss these tensions, after both agreed on Thursday to maintain a mechanism through NATO to defuse tensions in the eastern Mediterranean, as a result of bilateral dialogue within the military organisation.
In this connection, Stoltenberg stressed his recognition of both Alliance members for committing themselves to this mechanism, which marks the beginning of a solution and which, according to the Norwegian politician, could generate more space for the diplomatic efforts the European Union is maintaining with Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Turkish executive.
After the news of the withdrawal of Yavuz hydrocarbon prospecting, Cyprus and Turkey will have to resolve the limits of their exclusive economic zones as they are beginning to do with Greece.
