ATHENS, Greece: Greece’s prime minister warmly thanked France Thursday for its pledge to boost its military presence in the eastern Mediterranean, where Greek and Turkish warships are closely shadowing each other over a Turkish energy exploration bid in waters Athens claims as its own.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis tweeted that French President Emmanuel Macron is “a true friend of Greece and also a fervent protector of European values and international law.”
Macron announced following a phone call with Mitsotakis late Wednesday that he has decided to “temporarily reinforce the French military presence in the Eastern Mediterranean in the coming days, in cooperation with European partners including Greece.”
Greece’s NATO and European Union ally France is the EU’s biggest military power. Complicating matters, Turkey — Greece’s historic regional rival — is also a NATO member but has poor relations with France.
The mounting tension follows Turkey’s move Monday to send a seismic research vessel, escorted by warships, into waters between the Greek island of Crete and Cyprus to prospect for potential offshore gas and oil reserves, following similar discoveries in other parts of the region.
Greece claims part of the area is over its own continental shelf and has demanded that the Turkish ships withdraw. Turkey counters that it’s entitled to conduct research in the area. Greece placed its military on alert, and sent warships to the area off Turkey’s southern coast.
In a televised statement Wednesday, Mitsotakis warned of the “risk of an accident” in the contained area where the Greek and Turkish warships are gathered.
“In such a case, responsibility lies upon the one who gives rise to these circumstances,” he said. He added that Greece is not averse to “even the toughest dialogue,” but that “dialogue becomes irrelevant in a climate of tension and provocation.”
“We will never be the ones to escalate the situation. Yet, self-restraint is only one aspect of our power,” Mitsotakis said. “No provocation will ... go unanswered.”
On Thursday, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias traveled to Israel for talks on the matter.
Greece thanks France for pledge to boost forces in east Med
https://arab.news/gynut
Greece thanks France for pledge to boost forces in east Med
- Macron announced a temporary reinforcement of French military in Eastern Mediterranean
- Mitsotakis warned of the “risk of an accident” in the contained area where the Greek and Turkish warships are gathered
M23 rebel spokesperson killed in Congo army drone strike, officials say
- M23 controls large swathes of North and South Kivu provinces
- The attack happened near Rubaya, in North Kivu
DAKAR: The military spokesperson for the M23 rebel group, Willy Ngoma, was killed in an army drone strike in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday, a regional diplomat, a senior rebel official and a Western adviser to the government said.
The killing comes as Qatar-mediated ceasefire efforts continue, with Kinshasa and M23 having signed agreements in Doha to establish a joint ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism involving Qatar, the United States and the African Union as observers.
M23, which the United Nations says is backed by Rwanda, controls large swathes of North and South Kivu provinces after a rapid offensive last year in which the rebels seized the strategic cities of Goma and Bukavu.
The attack happened near Rubaya, in North Kivu, at around 3 a.m. (0100 GMT), and came after several days of sustained drone attacks on the area by the Congolese army, the senior M23 official told Reuters.
Rubaya is a strategic coltan-mining hub that produces around 15 percent of the world’s supply, making it a key financial stronghold for the M23 rebels. A spokesperson for the Congolese presidency declined to comment and a spokesperson for Congo’s army did not immediately respond.
