During a ceremony to launch Turkey’s first domestic warship, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said that his country’s interests in the seas "start from the Suez Canal and spread to the Indian Ocean" adding that Ankara is determined to take security measures to protect not only its commercial interests, but its "interests in the natural resources of our seas.” “We know that we are a big and strong country. And we define our policy based on our size and strength.” If this is not nationalistic… then hellasfrappe does not know what is! These arrogant statements were by far the most “Kemalist” statements ever made by Erdogan and had a large dose of nationalism and Islam in them.
Responding to these statements, Cypriot government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou’s said that “The Cyprus Republic cannot be held hostage to the illegal actions of Turkey, which continues to occupy (Cyprus) and violate its territorial integrity and the human rights of both Greek and Turkish Cypriots.”
Meanwhile the Turkish surveyor Piri Reis reportedly entered block 13 off Cyprus where Greek Cypriots are continuing natural gas exploration with US company Noble, Turkish Foreign Ministry sources confirmed. Commenting on this, Cyprus Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis questioned the Piri Reis ship’s capability to conduct research, noting that the vessel was nearly 40 years old. “Research has not started for sure,” she said. If the vessel had the appropriate equipment for research then the Turkish government would not have concluded an agreement with foreign companies (French and Norwegian) to conduct seismic research, a report in the Cyprus-Mail quoted Marcoullis as saying.
The minister said the Cyprus government was following the movements of the Piri Reis and other research vessels as well as that of the Turkish fleet, and making the necessary representations to the international community. Regarding Turkey’s announcement that it has signed a continental shelf agreement with the breakaway state in the north, she said: “We are taking all necessary measures so that the provisions of this agreement are not implemented.”
Her statements, however do not coincide with reports from Greece which claim that the Piri Reis was actually in block 12, (hellasfrappe presented the story click here)
A report from proto thema also said that the “Piri Reis” was closely being followed by the Turkish frigate “Giresun” and corvette “Bartin”.
A second report on defencenet also confirmed this saying that US, Russian and UK warships were in the area “to keep the situation calm”.
Proto thema also mentioned this in a relevant report saying that the “Monterey” American frigate was sailing about 100 miles from the drilling platform, while British and Russian warships were e also in the area.
The reports did add however, that at about 11 am Tuesday morning the Turkish frigate “Giresun”, the “Bartin” corvette and Piri Reis, were located 25 miles northwest of the “Homer Ferrington” platform where the drilling is taking place on the Cypriot seabed.
Meanwhile the Turkish surveyor Piri Reis reportedly entered block 13 off Cyprus where Greek Cypriots are continuing natural gas exploration with US company Noble, Turkish Foreign Ministry sources confirmed. Commenting on this, Cyprus Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis questioned the Piri Reis ship’s capability to conduct research, noting that the vessel was nearly 40 years old. “Research has not started for sure,” she said. If the vessel had the appropriate equipment for research then the Turkish government would not have concluded an agreement with foreign companies (French and Norwegian) to conduct seismic research, a report in the Cyprus-Mail quoted Marcoullis as saying.
The minister said the Cyprus government was following the movements of the Piri Reis and other research vessels as well as that of the Turkish fleet, and making the necessary representations to the international community. Regarding Turkey’s announcement that it has signed a continental shelf agreement with the breakaway state in the north, she said: “We are taking all necessary measures so that the provisions of this agreement are not implemented.”
Her statements, however do not coincide with reports from Greece which claim that the Piri Reis was actually in block 12, (hellasfrappe presented the story click here)
A report from proto thema also said that the “Piri Reis” was closely being followed by the Turkish frigate “Giresun” and corvette “Bartin”.
A second report on defencenet also confirmed this saying that US, Russian and UK warships were in the area “to keep the situation calm”.
Proto thema also mentioned this in a relevant report saying that the “Monterey” American frigate was sailing about 100 miles from the drilling platform, while British and Russian warships were e also in the area.
The reports did add however, that at about 11 am Tuesday morning the Turkish frigate “Giresun”, the “Bartin” corvette and Piri Reis, were located 25 miles northwest of the “Homer Ferrington” platform where the drilling is taking place on the Cypriot seabed.