(Newswire.net — December 10, 2019) — Athens and Ankara came close to an armed conflict as Turkey signed a demarcation agreement with Libya that ties into an exclusive economic zone that also covers Greek territorial waters.
The agreement, signed on November 27, envisions a corridor stretching along the eastern Mediterranean between the coasts of Turkey and Libya and cutting a part of the sea off the Greek island Crete, writes Al Jazeera.
Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez has announced that as soon as the agreement is ratified by both sides, Turkish vessels will begin underwater drilling in the area in search of natural gas and oil. This area however is partially in waters that do not belong to Turkey or Libya, which can be seen in the original document of the agreement, as the point A to point B markings on map.
Greece has decided to expel the Libyan ambassador over an agreement between Libya and Turkey which means no further bilateral relationship between the two countries. Also, although the Greek Navy has not made an official announcement, two experts tell Al Jazeera that Athens has sent naval forces to the disputed area southeast of Crete.
Al Jazeera also wrote that a meeting between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the NATO summit has not led to a concrete solution. Turkish President Erdogan also said that Libya may withdraw its ambassador from Greece before Athens can expel him.
International law professor and Conservative New Democrat MP in Hellenic Parliament Angelos Syrigos claims Turkey will not be able to start drilling because Greece will consider this an act of aggression on its sovereignty. He said that Turkish officials have been advised that “no exploration will be tolerated in an area considered by Greece to be its exclusive economic zone.”
The Libya deal “is presented in a hostile way to Greece and Cyprus”, said Marc Pierini, a former EU ambassador to Turkey and a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Europe think-tank, the Financial Times reports.
Greece and Turkey have implemented a number of confidence-building measures in the past since 1987, when war broke out over exploration of the Aegean Sea.
It was agreed that both parties should avoid military exercises during the summer tourist season. Also, it was planned to establish a direct link between the Greek Chiefs of Staff and the Turkish Ministers of Defense.
However, not all measures were implemented. In 2017 and 2018, the direct telephone line of the military chiefs of Greece and Turkey was out of order.