ANKARA –Turkey on Monday slammed Armenia’s remarks on the Eastern Mediterranean, two days after Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan held talks with Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias and Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides.
During the talks, held via phone, Armenia reaffirmed “its unconditional support” to Greece and Cyprus, expressing concerns over Turkey’s activities in the Aegean-Eastern Mediterranean region.
Armenia also said it was “closely following the latest developments and naval mobilisation in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean caused by the Turkish illegal and provocative actions.”
Tensions between NATO members Greece and Turkey have risen over the past week after Turkey sent the Oruc Reis survey vessel, escorted by warships, to map out possible oil and gas drilling in territory both countries claim jurisdiction over.
The Oruc Reis, which is between Cyprus and the Greek island of Crete, will continue work until August 23, Turkey said.
The vessel has been shadowed by Greek frigates and on Wednesday warships from the two sides were involved in a mild collision.
“This destabilising posturing in the Eastern Mediterranean manifests continued aggressive and expansionist policy that Turkey has been pursuing in its neighbouring regions,” the Armenian foreign ministry said in a statement.
“We reiterate Armenia’s unequivocal support and solidarity with Greece and Cyprus and call on Turkey to de-escalate the situation, respect the International Law and cease all actions within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Greece and Cyprus,” the ministry added.
In 1920, Armenia and Turkey signed the landmark peace accord to restore ties and open their shared border after a century of hostility stemming from the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman forces during the first world war.
The deal needed parliamentary approval in both countries, but was never ratified, and the Armenian and Turkish governments have since accused each other of trying to change the deal.
Turkey accepts that many Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire were killed in clashes with Ottoman forces during the first world war, but contests the figures and denies that the killings were systematically orchestrated and constitute a genocide.
Saturday’s Armenian statements drew the ire of Turkey, prompting Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy to condemn what he called “a new example of irresponsibility.”
“After Armenia’s provocative statement about the Treaty of Sevres, its opinion on the Eastern Mediterranean is “a new example of irresponsibility and without limits,” Aksoy said.
“We see that Armenia, which attempts to present an opinion on the Eastern Mediterranean, is in fundamental error about world geography and its place in this geography. The issue here is not Lake Sevan, but the Eastern Mediterranean,” he added.
The Turkish foreign ministry spokesman also said that Turkey will defend its “rights,” likely escalating tensions that could have far-reaching strategic consequences for the entire European Union, well beyond the Eastern Mediterranean.
“No matter what happens, Turkey will defend its rights and the rights of Turkish Cypriots in the eastern Mediterranean stemming from international law. No alliance of evil can afford to prevent that. Those who think otherwise have not learned anything from history,” Aksoy said.
Earlier on Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country will not back down to threats of sanctions nor to incursions on its claimed territory in the Mediterranean Sea, where it is in a standoff with EU member Greece over oil and gas exploration rights.
European Union foreign ministers on Friday said Ankara’s actions were antagonistic and dangerous after a meeting requested by Athens.
“We will never bow to banditry on our continental shelf. We will not back down against the language of sanctions and threats,” Erdogan said in the north-eastern city of Rize.
EU foreign ministers met via video conference on Friday and said Turkey’s naval movements would lead to a “heightened risk of dangerous incidents.”
Relations between Greece and Turkey have long been fraught with tension. Disputes have ranged from boundaries of offshore continental shelves and airspace to the ethnically split island of Cyprus. In 1996 they almost went to war over ownership of uninhabited islets in the Aegean Sea.