Turkey disregards Secretary-General of NATO, announces naval maneuvers in Eastern Mediterranean

Turkey announced conducting new naval exercises in the eastern Mediterranean, hours after the NATO Secretary-General announced that Athens and Ankara had agreed to cancel the military exercises.

24 October, 2020 09:41

NEWS DESK

Turkey issued a navigation warning (NAFTEX) announcing the holding of naval exercises in the eastern Mediterranean from 27 to 28 October, hours after the NATO Secretary-General announced that Greece and Turkey had agreed on Friday to cancel the military exercises that were to be held on the 28^th and 29^th of the past month, according to what was reported by the Greek newspaper Kathimerini.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters after he chaired a virtual meeting of NATO defense ministers: "Greece and Turkey decided to cancel the military exercises that were scheduled to take place next week."

He added: "These are steps in the right direction, as they help reduce the risk of accidents," expressing his hope that this step will have a positive impact on efforts mediated by Germany to ease tensions between the two NATO allies.