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541. NAVTEX wars continue in east Med

Athens has issued an advisory to mariners concerning Greek air and naval forces conducting exercises in an area that overlaps with the one reserved by Ankara in a similar advisory issued on Sunday...

542. Greek defence minister radios Limnos captain

Greek Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos has congratulated the captain of the Greek frigate that was involved in last week's collision with a Turkish ship in the eastern Mediterranean...

543. Borrell doubles down on Turkey criticism

EU High Representative on Foreign Policy Josep Borrell scorned Turkey over the weekend, calling on Ankara to end drilling activities off the island of Cyprus and engage in a broad dialogue with the European Union...

544. Rival warnings keep on in the Mediterranean

Rival warnings continued to be issued over waters in the eastern Mediterranean this weekend, after EU ministers reaffirmed the bloc’s solidarity with Greece and the Republic of Cyprus and Turkey saying it would not “bow to banditry”...

545. Greek and Turkish warships in 'mini collision,' says defense source

A Greek and a Turkish warship were involved in a mini-collision on Wednesday during a standoff in the eastern Mediterranean, a Greek defense source said, describing it as an "accident."...

546. Amid tensions with Turkey, Greece in joint manoeuvres with France

Amid ongoing tensions with Turkey over disputed waters in the eastern Mediterranean, the French military conducted training exercises with Greek forces on Thursday off the southern island of Crete, including in the maritime area reserved by Turkey’s Navtex earlier this month for seismic exploration....

547. Turkey says it will license new Mediterranean areas this month

Turkey will issue seismic exploration and drilling licenses in new areas of the eastern Mediterranean by the end of August and continue its operations in the region, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday, amid tensions with Greece....

548. Turkey issues yet another Navtex as vessel moves into Greek EEZ

Turkey has responded to a Greek navigational telex (Navtex) issued earlier Monday with an advisory saying that three Turkish research vessels are “conducting seismic survey in Turkey’s continental shelf… in accordance with international law.”...

549. Regional tensions flare up anew as Turkey issues new Navtex

550. Turkey resumes drilling in eastern Mediterranean, Erdogan says

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that Turkey had resumed energy exploration work in the eastern Mediterranean as Greece had not kept its promises regarding such activities in the region. ...

551. Ankara stands down pending dialogue

Turkey could pause energy-exploration operations in the eastern Mediterranean Sea for a while pending talks with Greece, presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on Tuesday...

552. Greece ‘overreacted’ to Turkish research mission, Erdogan spokesman says

Ibrahim Kalin, spokesman of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said Thursday that Greece had “overreacted” to plans by Turkey to proceed with an oil-and-gas research mission south of Greek islands in the Eastern Mediterranean....

553. Cypriot president in Paris for talks

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades is set to meet French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Thursday, as the two leaders get together amid heightened rhetoric over the eastern Mediterranean...

554. Armed Forces source: ‘Situation unchanged’ near Kastellorizo

The situation “remain unchanged” in the sea area near the Greek island of Kastellorizo on Wednesday for which Turkey issued a Navtex on Tuesday for seismic activities in an area of sea between Cyprus and Crete, according to a source from the Hellenic National Defense General Staff (GEETHA)....

555. Only through dialogue can the Mediterranean regain stability, Borrell says

The Mediterranean can be a more secure and stable zone only through dialogue, the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said at the European Parliament’s plenary session on Turkey in Brussels. ...

556. Turkey warns it will respond if EU takes fresh measures against it

Turkey will respond with its own steps if the European Union imposes further sanctions on Ankara, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday after meeting the EU’s top diplomat....

557. Anastasiades: Patriotic realism dictates solution through diplomacy, not weapons

Instead of a catastrophic scenario, we opt for diplomacy, the weapons of international law and Cyprus’ status as an EU member state. This is what is dictated by patriotic realism and rationalism, and not a rhetoric of empty slogans. The coming days are crucial as regards initiatives taken by the EU and the US in view of preventing a potential crisis through targeted measures towards Turkey....

558. Aegean tension fueling Berlin concern

With Germany assuming the European Union presidency on Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed concern over developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and Greek-Turkish relations in response to questions from MPs in the Bundestag....

559. Turkey says Macron suffers 'eclipse of the mind' over Libya

Turkey hit back on Tuesday at French criticism of its intervention in Libya, saying President Emmanuel Macron must have suffered an "eclipse of the mind" to oppose Ankara's support for the internationally recognised Tripoli government....

560. EU slams Trump’s Europe travel ban

The European Union has slammed the new anti-virus travel ban announced by US President Donald Trump, lashing out at an “unilateral” decision taken “without consultation.”...

561. Greek border crackdown amid concerns over Turkey

Greek government sources on Friday stressed that authorities are boosting security at the country’s border following reports that Turkey will no longer stop Syrian refugees from traveling to Europe....

562. Pressed in Syria, Turkey ups the ante in the East Med

563. Military clash with Syria is imminent, Erdogan says

Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday a Turkish military operation to push back a Syrian government offensive against rebel strongholds in northwest Syria was now “a matter of time” after talks with Russia failed to halt the assault....

564. Greece, US hold live-fire drill after major base deal

At the foot of Mount Olympus, army aviation forces from Greece and the United States are taking part in a live-fire exercise with attack helicopters, marking deepening defense ties between the two countries....

565. Amid tension, Greece, Turkey hold military-to-military talks

A delegation of Turkish military officials is due in Athens to resume confidence-building talks amid tension between the two NATO members over maritime oil-and-gas drilling rights....

566. Greek-US ties and the East Med

By Lieutenant General Thomas Trask On the occasion of his meeting last month with President Donald Trump in Washington, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis remarked how the US-Greece relationship “is the best it ever was. But it can become even better.”...

567. Athens drafts package to ease tension with Anakara

Athens plans to present a package of proposals to ease Aegean tensions in talks with Ankara on confidence building measures on February 17-21....

568. Greek Defence minister denies Erdogan's phone talk claims on Imia

Greek Defence Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos rejected on Thursday claims by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that he sent a message to Greece through Defence Minister Hulusi Akar not to make any “move” over the eastern Aegean islets of Imia, for which the two countries were brought to the brink of war twenty-four years ago....

569. Greek, Turkish defense ministers hold telephone conversation ahead of NATO meeting

Greek Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos and his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar held a telephone conversation Wednesday ahead of the meeting of NATO ministers of defense in Brussels February 12-13, Kathimerini reports....

570. Serious planning, not tough-guy posturing