Amid a period in which geopolitical tensions are heating up in the Eastern Mediterranean, Spain is stepping up its diplomatic efforts to lower the temperatures. As tensions between Greece and Turkey were heating up last summer, Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs Arancha González Laya visited both countries’ capitals on July 27 and 28 and called …
Spanish Diplomacy in the Eastern Mediterranean – Inside Arabia Read More »
US President-elect Joe Biden has sent a reply letter to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew expressing his warm thanks for the congratulations letter sent by the Ecumenical Patriarch immediately after his election victory. In his letter, Joe Biden states: Your Holiness, Thank you for your kind words and wishes. I’m sorry because we have not yet had …
President-elect to Ecumenical Patriarch: We need your leadership – Orthodox Times Read More »
The reconciliation narrative began with maps that Turkey sought to push to Israeli media that show Turkey and Israel sharing a maritime border, which they do not. Ankara wants to ignore Cyprus and try to impose gas claims off the coast, much as it has done with Greece.
Turkey’s goal here is to try to get Israel to stop working on a pipeline agreement with Greece and Cyprus and reroute efforts to Turkey. This is designed not to “reconcile” with Israel but to sabotage deals between Athens, Nicosia and Jerusalem.
2020 has been the most acrimonious year for Greek-Turkish relations since 1974. Here, we review the key events that led to the fallout: January 2: East Med pipeline deal signed Greece, Cyprus and Israel signed an agreement to build the Eastern Mediterranean Pipeline that will carry natural gas 1,900km from the Eastern Mediterranean basin to …
Annus horribilis: Key Greek-Turkish developments in 2020 – Al Jazeera Read More »
Erdogan accused of raising tensions abroad to maintain influence inside Turkey Survey vessel will continue searching for oil and gas in territorial waters claimed by Greece and Cyprus ANKARA: Recep Tayyip Erdogan has authorized controversial oil exploration by a survey vessel in the eastern Mediterranean for a further six months, until June next year. The …
Turkey sends oil ship to eastern Med, approves Libya troop deployment – Arab News Read More »
Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Mass rejected on Monday Greece’s request to impose an arms embargo on Turkey amid the ongoing tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean. “I do not find the demand of an arms embargo against Turkey strategically correct. It is not easy to do this against a NATO partner. We saw that NATO ally …
Maas rejects Greek call for arms embargo against Turkey – ekathimerini.com Read More »
A series of high-profile diplomatic visits in Iraq and Lebanon and a months-long standoff with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have recently put French president Emmanuel Macron’s strategy in the eastern Mediterranean into focus. This past summer, Paris dispatched a frigate and two fighter jets in response to Turkey’s incursions on internationally recognised Cypriot …
What to Look Out for In Macron’s New Bid to Shape the Mediterranean – Diplomatic Courier Read More »
Robert Gates writes in New York Times that Turkey, a fellow NATO member, must also be held to account for its actions in Libya and Syria. WASHINGTON – Former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates urged the incoming Biden administration to take a tougher stance with Turkey, suggesting further punitive steps could be taken against its …
With evidence of compliance for 35 years there is no room left to argue that the obligation not to populate Varosha is not binding Last week Panayiotis Kouparanis reported from Berlin that legal advice provided to the German parliament suggested the UN Security Council prohibition on populating Varosha was not strictly binding as it was soft rather …
CAIRO–Turkey is beginning to have serious concerns after the United Arab Emirates joined the Cairo-based Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum as an observer. Egypt, Israel, Greece, Cyprus, Italy and Jordan established the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF) as an intergovernmental organisation in a virtual ceremony hosted by Cairo in September. France has applied to join, with …
UAE plays Gas Forum card sending message to Turkey – Arab Weekly Read More »
The United Kingdom has announced the extension of sanctions on persons involved in illegal drilling in the Eastern Mediterranean, namely in Cyprus, beyond December 31, when the transitional period for the UK’s formal exit from the European Union expires. According to the UK Foreign Office, the Unauthorized Drilling Activities in the Eastern Mediterranean regime includes …
UK extends sanctions for East Med drilling – ekathimerini.com Read More »
A joint call for an urgent recalibration of US strategy in the Eastern Mediterranean is made by former US ambassador to Turkey Eric Edelman and Aykan Erdemir, a former MP with Turkey’s Republican People’s Party (CHP) and current director of the Turkey Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based think tank, in a newly …