Turkey considers the increase of Greece's maritime border as a cause of war

Turkey's vice-president, Fuat Oktay, issued a serious warning because of Greece's determination to increase the maritime borders of the Greek islands from six to twelve nautical miles; something he considered as a real cause of war. The new clash of positions between Ottomans and Greeks marks a new episode in the escalation of tension in the eastern Mediterranean, an area in which the Eurasian country headed by Recep Tayyip Erdogan focused its interest on developing an expansionist policy aimed at improving its geostrategic position and taking advantage of gas and oil resources. 

Fuat Oktay was forceful: "Do the Greeks and the European Union (EU) expect us to accept an increase in the territorial waters of Greece and its islands from six miles to twelve nautical miles? If this issue is not a cause for war, then what is?". Oktay warned that no one should expect Turkey to "backtrack on the eastern Mediterranean". "We are expecting fairness from the European Union. Within the framework of this impartiality, let nobody expect Turkey to back down. Turkey will protect, at any cost, its rights in every square inch of the eastern Mediterranean, every cubic meter of the sea. This is what we say to Europe: Turkey will not give up its rights in the eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean in any way," the Turkish vice-president said threateningly. 

Oktay stressed that "Turkey will fully defend its rights on the land, sea and air". "Nobody is expecting Turkey to take a step backwards, and we expect the European Union to tell the truth", he said.

Thus, Greece has angered Turkey with its strategy of expanding its coastal area towards the Ionian Sea by six nautical miles under the international maritime law.

In this line, tensions are increasing in the Eastern Mediterranean after Turkey launched new military exercises. The tensions between two members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) such as Greece and Turkey intensified again on Saturday after Ankara launched new military exercises in the eastern Mediterranean.

Greece also accused Turkish planes of an incursion after both nations plunged into a dispute over maritime rights and energy resources in the Mediterranean arc. 

In a message on NAVTEX, the international maritime navigation system, Turkey said that it would carry out "artillery exercises" from Saturday to September 11 in an area in front of the city of Anamur in southern Turkey, north of the island of Cyprus. Ankara said on Thursday that the exercises would be carried out on Tuesday and Wednesday in an area further east.

The Greek national defence agency (HNDS) warned that Turkish fighter planes had entered the Athens Flight Information Region (FIR) on Friday, the area where Greek authorities are responsible for air traffic.

This crisis means a new crack in NATO and in a phone call with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday, the head of the Atlantic Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, called for "dialogue and de-escalation". In addition, the German foreign minister, Heiko Maas, visited Ankara and Athens to mediate between the two parties, although his Turkish and Greek counterparts, Mevlut Cavusoglu and Nikos Dendias respectively, were firm in their positions in defence of the interests of their respective nations. 

Meanwhile, the EU and Greece have been calling on Turkey over the past few days to put an immediate end to prospecting for energy resources in the disputed waters of the Mediterranean. The European Community body warned Turkey on Friday that it could face new sanctions if tensions are not defused. "The fact that the EU is appealing to dialogue on the one hand and at the same time making other plans reflects a lack of sincerity," said Fuat Oktay, "Turkey will not hesitate to defend its interests," added the Turkish vice-president.