​​​​​​​Eastern Mediterranean.. Military build-up, Turkish harassment, will confrontation take place?

This retreat comes after warnings sent by Josep Borrell, the European Union's foreign policy chief, regarding the need for Ankara to stop its violations in the Greek economic zone and return to the negotiating table.

The Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu quickly responded to the demands of the European Union saying that his country has the intention to hold talks with Athens after their continuous refusal and false claims about their right to explore for gas around the extension of the continental shelf that is spread over most of the Greek islands.

European threatening of sanctions

Before Turkey's announcement its readiness for dialogue, Erdogan had declared the extension of gas exploration operations in the eastern Mediterranean, and the extension of the mission of the seismic survey vessel "Oruj Reis" along with the ships "Othman" and "Jenkiz Khan" until September 12, but in the face of the Turkish stubbornness and insistence on violations in the eastern Mediterranean, the European response came strong and firm, whether by brandishing European sanctions, or French-Greek moves to deter Turkish plans to seize the riches of the Mediterranean.

Charles de Gaulle to the Eastern Mediterranean

This caused panic in Turkey, as the Turkish newspaper "Bold Media" reported France sending its pilot "Charles De Gaulle" which weighs 42,500 tons to the eastern Mediterranean, carrying the 261-meter aircraft carrier, along with many submarines and Rafale combat aircrafts.

French sources indicated that the battleship was carrying a large quantity of weapons and ammunition, in addition to radar, missiles, anti-submarine systems, electronic tracking, targeting and intervention.

Greek ships and submarines

At the same time, Greece sent a large number of ships and submarines to the eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea, and it sent more naval supplies to its islands intersecting with the Turkish islands to protect them in the event of a war, and is also considering during this period the purchase of French Rafale fighter aircraft to respond to the Turkish violations in the eastern Mediterranean.

Turkish retreat on reality and war in the media

Despite Ankara's retreat in the face of European threats, the Turkish president is trying to beautify his image which has been distorted by his policies that may cause Turkey to fall into international isolation, and drag the country into a war that his economy cannot bear, Erdogan began his campaign spreading lies and promoting the plots being hatched against their country, using the media under his control to manipulate the feelings of the public and receive popular support and approval to ignite the war in the eastern Mediterranean.

The Turkish media declared the state of war through several Turkish newspapers, including "Anatolia, TRT, Akşam, and Milliyet,” and some opposition newspapers joined them such as "Yeni Akit, Yeni Çag, and Cumhuriyet."

 It spread panic over Greek moves and French military supplies, and then Turkish television began broadcasting comparisons between the Greek and Turkish military.

Turkey accuses Greece of military build-up in many Aegean islands, including the Greek island of Mays, while Turkey was the one which began to mobilize its forces on the Greek continental shelf, as well as the Turkish navy's attempts to provoke the Greek navy and to explore inside their water, in violation of many international agreements that stipulate its keeping disarmed from heavy weapons.

According to the Turkish newspapers, Greece has sent armed forces via a ship transporting tourists to the island, which is 2 kilometers away from the Turkish coasts and 580 kilometers from the main coast of Greece, and is considered one of the main points of contention between the two countries, as Athens demands a large continental shelf for the small island that Turkey considers a complete blockade of the Turkish coasts.

Italy, France, southern Cyprus and Greece had declared that they would organize joint military exercises and maneuvers in the eastern Mediterranean region, in conjunction with Turkey's continuing exploration work in the same region.

Colonial project

In this context, the Egyptian journalist Mahmoud Bassiouni told Hawar news agency: "The Turkish Justice and Development Party has a colonial project and ambitions in the neighboring countries and their wealth, especially in the eastern Mediterranean."

He explained: "This appeared in a series of tweets published by Metin Glonk, one of the Party's representatives of Greater Turkey which includes large areas of northern Greece, the eastern Aegean islands, half of Bulgaria, Cyprus and Armenia in its entirety, and large areas of Georgia, Iraq and Syria, in addition to its movement in the Gulf and North Africa, where its military forces are in Qatar and Libya, and it seeks to establish military bases in African countries, relying on its alliance with the elements of the Muslim terrorist group and the organization's access to power in a number of countries."

Bassiouni added: "The Turkish colonial project, Turkey's refusal to submit to the international will, its practice of thuggery in the eastern Mediterranean and its disregard for maritime border demarcation agreements are the cause of the increasing tension between Turkey and Greece, and both are members of NATO, as well as Greece's membership in the European Union. On this basis, France and Germany began to provide support to Greece, and the European Union is preparing to apply sanctions against Turkey because of these practices."

Turkey fears confrontation, but is looking for a piece of the action

The Egyptian journalist confirmed that the conflict will continue because of the Turkish ambitions and its colonial project.

The Egyptian journalist ruled out a military confrontation, saying: "I rule out military clashes because Turkey is afraid of its involvement in military conflicts in light of its internal economic and political crisis, but it will continue to pursue a policy of military harassment, hoping to attract the parties to the negotiating table."

It is a policy that the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has addicted to during his interventions in the various regional conflicts, as he always looks for a seat at the negotiating table, with which he gets a  piece of the action to present to the Turkish public opinion charged against him after his government's failure to address the economic crisis that is escalating in Turkey a day after day.

D.H