This is the issue, which of course needs the proper framework to move forward.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his aides to “put this on hold for some time,” presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin told Turkish broadcaster CNN Turk. Armyvoice.gr even secured a photograph from the early days of their presence there.As you can see in the below photo of the map, it is one of the many pockets formed by the river, which even Google maps shows as Greek territory.To explain a little better, it is known that the Evros River that serves as the border on maps between Greece and Turkey sometimes shifts east or west, creating alluviums on both sides. Last week, Turkey announced plans to dispatch research vessel Oruc Reis and two support ships to carry out operations through Aug. 2 south of the Greek islands of Rhodes, Karpathos, and Kastellorizo. In Athens, Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas welcomed Turkey's decision. “The game changer was the US policy of using the proverbial big stick in dealing with Turkey and Greece,” Guvenc said, adding that “Germany had little means to stop a naval confrontation between the two countries.” Turkey and Syrian opposition proposed a safe zone that includes some regions of northern Syria in 2013, however United States and the other Western states were not willing to accept these plans. ISTANBUL (AP) - Turkey will suspend research for oil and gas exploration in disputed waters in the Eastern Mediterranean that abruptly raised military tensions with neighboring Greece, a top Turkish official said Tuesday. Turkish troops have invaded and occupied a small patch of Greek land Greece on their contested border. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his aides to "put this on hold for some time," presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin told Turkish broadcaster CNN Turk. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici) The declaration on Navtex, the international maritime safety system, angered Given that Turkey brutally invaded Cyprus in 1974, its current threats against Greece -- from both ends of Turkey's political spectrum -- should not be taken lightly by the West. The most serious confrontation was in 1974, when Turkey invaded the Eastern Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus, following an abortive coup by supporters of union with Greece. A top Turkish official said Tuesday that Turkey will suspend research for oil and gas exploration in disputed waters in the Eastern Mediterranean. In this photo taken Monday, July 27, 2020, Turkey's research vessel, Oruc Reis, anchored off the coast of Antalya on the Mediterranean, Turkey. Serhat Guvenc, professor of international relations at Kadir Has University in Istanbul, said the presence of elements of the U.S. Sixth Fleet for naval exercises in the area contributed to Turkey's decision to suspend the exploration — which he called a “strategic retreat” by Turkey. The two historic regional rivals have come close to war three times since the early 1970s, including over offshore exploitation rights, ownership of an uninhabited Aegean Sea islet. Turkey refuses to acknowledge that some of the land on the eastern side of the Evros River still belong to Greece, even if the river changes its natural course.Turkey has now decided to claim the land on the eastern side of the Evros for itself with its de facto occupation.Recently, Greek Army Geographical Officers visited the area to study where the poles will be set up to expand the Evros dam, making it more difficult for illegal immigrants to cross into Greece.According to information from Armyvoice.gr, the Turkish side has persistently refused to present the information it invokes when it claims that it is Turkish territory and has ruled out any discussion on the issue.It is customary between countries when there are border issues to be resolved, that discussions take place.Turkey’s refusal to provide the information it cites that supposedly proves the land is Turkish, reflects its intention to extract this piece of Greek territory for itself.