If Turkish ships approach Crete, this will herald the launch of military operations between Ankara and Athens. This is what Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies at the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, Turkologist Ruben Safrastyan told reporters today.

Safrastyan says the sides are aspiring to establish control over energy resources, adding that Cyprus, Egypt, Israel and Libya are also engaged in this process and that France, Italy and the US are also interested.

“In essence, Turkey is implementing a plan that was stated in a document dating back to 2010. Based on that document, Ankara had to use civil forces to make a provocation against Athens by sending fishers to the Greek waters. This is exactly what we are witnessing now. However, the large players such as Germany and France are expressing support to Greece and Cyprus. Besides this, Turkey is slamming the US, which has deployed a large warship and military air forces in the region,” he stated.

According to the Turkologist, other NATO member states aren’t supporting Ankara either.