On Sunday, Turkey decided to extend its controversial gas exploration mission in the eastern Mediterranean for more week amid escalating tensions with Greece.
The Turkish move to extend the operation of Oruc Reis seismic survey vessel, accompanied by two support ships in the area south of the Greek island of Rhodes until Nov. 4 will fuel further tensions in the region.
Turkey has previously issued earlier notice that the ships would be operating in the area until Tuesday, Oct. 27.
During a tripartite summit on Wednesday, Egypt, Greece, and Cyprus agreed on the necessity of “combating escalation policies aimed at shaking the region’s stability,” in an apparent reference to Turkey’s policies in the East Mediterranean.
It is worth mentioning that, tensions escalated dangerously in recent months between Greece and Turkey, long time rivals in the Mediterranean, and between Cyprus and Turkey, which have clashed bitterly over the pided island since a Turkish invasion in 1974.
Greece and Cyprus have also accused Turkey of violating their sovereignty by drilling or exploring for gas in parts of the eastern Mediterranean that the two EU countries each claim as their own territorial waters.
NATO members Turkey and Greece are locked in a dispute over the extent of their continental shelves and conflicting claims to hydrocarbon resources in the eastern Mediterranean.
The row erupted in August when Turkey sent Oruc Reis into waters also claimed by Greece and Cyprus.
The vessel was withdrawn for maintenance earlier this month as a diplomatic solution was sought, but it was later redeployed to the region with two support supply ships.
Turkey in the past has dispatched exploratory missions for oil and gas reserves in waters that Cyprus claims as its own.
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