Ankara is causing tension near Greek territorial waters in Kassos with the presence of five Turkish warships, due to investigations by the Italian ship “Ievoli Relume” for the installation of submarine cables connecting Crete to Cyprus. Turkey claims that the surveys violate the Turkish continental shelf and has deployed its ships in the area near the boundaries of the Greek coastal zone between Kasos and Karpathos.
The presence of the ‘Ievoli Relume’ led to the deployment of two frigates and a corvette by the Turkish navy, while from the Greek side the gunboat ‘Aettitos’ was initially in the area of the searches and then the frigate ‘Nikiforos Fokas’ was added. In addition, two missile boats of the Turkish navy arrived in the area, giving the impression that Ankara is seeking to cancel the Italian ship’s searches. Athens chose not to escalate the situation, sending only one coast guard patrol boat.
At the same time, four violations of the Athens FIR were recorded by two Turkish helicopters and one UAV. Ankara is choosing to put pressure on this geographical point for the Great Sea Interconnector project, which is creating disagreements between Athens and Nicosia. The “Ievoli Relume” is carrying out the surveys based on NAVTEX from the Heraklion station of the Hydrographic Service, covering an area from the middle of the Crete-Cassos distance to the south of Karpathos.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Adonis Georgiades made statements that provoked a reaction in Turkey, stating that Greece’s F-35 air force could threaten Ankara without being noticed. These statements sparked a reaction from the Turkish media, which described the statements as scandalous.
