Türkiye thanks Mitsotakis government for leaving Greek sovereignty zone

Turkish Navy thanks Mitsotakis government for the decision to divert an Italian ship from preparations for laying electrical cables south of Kasos and “for respect for our maritime jurisdiction and cooperation.”

Referring to the developments in recent days and the cancellation of the investigation (which the Greek government said had been completed) of the Italian vessel Ievoli Relume in an area threatened by the Turkish fleet, Turkish Navy spokesman Rear Admiral Zeki Akturk said:

“On 21 July, Greece issued navigation notices regarding the work that the Italian-flagged vessel IEVOLI RELLUME was to carry out to lay cables, some of which entered areas of our maritime jurisdiction. Navigational notices of disagreement were issued in this regard and it was stated that permission was required to carry out work in areas under the maritime jurisdiction of Turkey. The vessel in question was warned against entering Turkey's maritime jurisdiction on July 22 and was blocked by Turkish vessels.”

He went on to say that the Italian ship “left the continental shelf”:

“As a result of the coordination that took place later, it was allowed to conduct operations in the declared coordinates and it left our continental shelf, completing its activities under escort of our naval ships. The activities of this vessel are being closely monitored by our Navy units in the area. We would like to thank the Greek and Italian authorities for their respect for our maritime jurisdiction and cooperation.”

Turkey has essentially implemented on the ground the Turkish-Libyan memorandum it submitted to the UN in a letter dated March 18, 2020, and is seizing, together with Libya, most of the Greek continental shelf.

Mitsotakis government succumbs to Turkey's threats and ordered the Italian research vessel IEVOLI Relume to return to the port of Heraklion because the vessel did not approach the “disputed point” claimed by Turkey, and suspended its operations on July 22, 2024.

Athens has legalized it in practice Turkish-Libyan memorandumadmittedAnd… “Turkish” continental shelf And cancelled agreement on the definition of a partial EEZ signed with Egypt! IN Eventually that the Greek government was talking about about “using the diplomatic channel“, meant one thing: betrayal retreat.

The gathering of Turkish warships (two G-class frigates, a corvette and two missile boats) was prompted by Turkey's attempt to prevent an Italian vessel from laying a cable for the Greek-Cypriot electricity connection.

Türkiye has released NAVTEX, stating that the cable laying operation is taking place in an area under Turkish sovereignty(!)which resulted in an escalation of the conflict within a few hours. By this action of removing the Italian vessel, the Greek government seems to acknowledge Turkish-Libyan memorandum! In essence, it legalized it…

It should be noted that this vessel carried out its research in the territorial waters of Greece, with the exception of a point that was approximately half a mile from them, that is, in international waters, in the area belonging to the Greek EEZ, according to the Greek-Egyptian agreement. As a result, no work was carried out at this point.

In short, the Mitsotakis government does not even recognize in practice its own agreement to declare partial EEZ with Egypt, and today it received the most official gratitude from the Turkish Ministry of Defense!

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