Image source: topwar.ru
While this is not the first time Ankara has called on Athens to "behave decently" and avoid provocations, Greece continues to declare its readiness to deploy weapons on islands in the Aegean Sea. Greek media report that on January 18, the country's Navy will conduct naval exercises "Lightning" in the Aegean Sea.
It is reported that frigates, missile boats, submarines, aviation and elite marine units will be involved in the naval exercises. The scenario of the exercise is associated with the protection of power plants and platforms for the extraction of hydrocarbons, as well as "protection from attacks by enemy fleets and the return of territories captured by the enemy."
The last few definitions have caused considerable irritation in Turkey. The Turkish expert community considered that this could be a threat to Northern Cyprus and to the territories of Turkey itself in the eastern Mediterranean.
The Greek news says that the "Lightning" is "a response to Ankara's provocations" and a demonstration that any movement of Turkey in the sea separating the two countries is "under the close attention" of the Greek Navy.
Territorial rights in the Aegean Sea have long been the subject of disagreement between these two countries. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan often warns Greece against provocations at sea.
Erdogan said the recent ballistic missile test conducted by Turkey "scared" Athens. In October, Turkey conducted a test launch of a short-range ballistic missile "Typhoon". The missile can hit a target at a distance of more than 500 km.
Turkey and Greece disagree on several issues, including competing claims to jurisdiction in the Eastern Mediterranean, overlapping claims to their continental shelves, maritime borders, airspace, energy, the ethnically divided island of Cyprus, the status of islands in the Aegean Sea.
Relations deteriorated after Erdogan said that Mitsotakis "no longer exists" for him when the Greek prime minister lobbied to block sales of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey during a visit to the United States, despite having previously agreed with Erdogan on a partnership. In May, Erdogan severed relations with Mitsotakis and declared all other communication channels between the countries closed.
In military terms, it even got to the point that Greek Coast Guard boats opened fire on a cargo ship, which, as it was stated, violated Greek territorial waters. The ship turned out to be Turkish.
