Last week’s discovery of natural gas reserves in the Black Sea is a prelude to upcoming good news from the Mediterranean, said Turkey’s president on Monday.
“GOOD NEWS WILL CONTINUE”
There is substantial evidence that the natural gas discovery foreshadows a much bigger gas find, and hopefully the good news will continue, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said after a Cabinet meeting at the presidential complex.
Erdoğan also called Monday’s Greek Navtex alert a “spoiled act” that endangers the coastal and navigational safety of all ships in the region.
Athens’ Navtex said its air and naval forces would hold joint exercises in an area overlapping with the one Turkey declared on Sunday. From now on, Greece will be responsible for all conflicts in the region, and will be at a disadvantage, added Erdoğan.
“The Turkish ship Oruç Reis and the vessels accompanying it will not retreat from their activities in the region,” he said.
Turkey on Sunday issued a Navtex (navigational alert) announcing a four-day extension to the Oruç Reis’ energy exploration. Navtex is a maritime communications system that allows ships to inform other vessels about their presence in an area, as well as other information.
Turkey resumed energy exploration earlier this month in the Eastern Mediterranean after Greece and Egypt signed a controversial maritime delimitation deal.