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Amid tensions with Turkey, Greek defense forces began a joint military exercise with French forces in the eastern Mediterranean on Thursday.
Today’s exercise south of the Greek island of Crete was the first manifestation of French President Emmanuel Macron’s commitment to temporarily reinforce his country’s military presence in the eastern Mediterranean.
Greek media report that the French participation in the exercise includes a frigate and two Rafale fighter aircraft. The Greek forces include an unspecified number of frigates and jets.
Meanwhile, it was reported on Thursday that Turkey’s oil and gas exploration vessel the Oruc Reis, was moving once again, this time traveling in a western direction, still within the illegally-declared region of the Navtex that Turkey issued on Monday.
“The situation in the eastern Mediterranean is worrying. Turkey’s unilateral decisions on oil exploration are causing tensions,” the French leader tweeted on Wednesday in both French and Greek.
Macron added that he decided “to temporarily strengthen the French military presence in the Eastern Mediterranean in the coming days, in cooperation with European partners including Greece.”
Greek and Turkish Navy vessels reportedly collided on Wednesday in the area south of Crete where where the Turkish seismic research vessel Oruc Reis is conducting surveys accompanied by warships from the its own Navy.
According to reports, there was a collision between the frigate Limnos and the Turkish vessel Kemal Reis, which it appears was due to a mistake made by the captain of the Turkish vessel.
The Turkish frigate was damaged, in contrast to the Greek one, which continued to participate in Thursday’s Greek-French joint exercise in the region.
It is expected that the supposed incident will be brought up by Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias at Friday’s extraordinary EU Foreign Affairs Council, which had been requested by Greece after the last week’s disturbing developments in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Neither Athens or Ankara have confirmed the incident. On Wednesday evening, Greek Premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned of the danger of an accident in the eastern Mediterranean, saying:
“Let everyone know that the risk of an accident lurks when so many troops are concentrated in a limited area. And the responsibility in such a case will be borne by the one who causes these conditions,” Mitsotakis said.
Turkey and Greece have announced they will conduct rival naval exercises off the Greek island of Crete on Tuesday amid rising tension over claims to gas and oil in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Turkey sent out an official warning to other vessels to avoid the area.
Greece announced its exercises after Turkey said it would extend a mission by a seismic research ship.
Germany is sending its Foreign Minister Heiko Maas to Athens and Ankara on Tuesday to try to reduce tension.
Mr Maas is due to meet Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis before talks in Ankara with his Turkish counterpart.
Turkey and Greece - both Nato members - are at loggerheads over the discovery of oil and gas deposits off Crete and Cyprus in disputed waters.
Greece is in the European Union, which has called for dialogue. But France appears to side with Greece - it has been involved in a recent naval exercise with Greece.
Turkey announced on Monday that exploration by its Oruc Reis research vessel in contentious waters would be extended for four days till 27 August. That appears to have spurred Greece, which sees the survey as unlawful, to signal naval exercises.
"Greece is responding calmly and with readiness both on a diplomatic and on an operational level. And with national confidence it does everything needed to defend its sovereign rights," Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas said.
Why Turkey-Greece tensions have flared in Med
Turkey responded in a similarly robust fashion.
"Turkey will not take even the smallest step back from the activities of either Oruc Reis or our naval elements escorting it," President Recip Tayyip Erdogan said.
Greece had "thrown itself into a chaos from which it cannot find a way out," he said.
Athens reacted angrily last month when Ankara issued a similar advisory, known as a Navtex, warning of the presence of its research ship.
Greece signed a maritime border deal with Egypt this month to declare exclusive economic zones, but that agreement impinges on one signed by Turkey and the UN-recognised Libyan government in Tripoli.
Further complicating matters, Greek officials said on Friday that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would dispatch F-16 fighter jets to Crete for joint training this week.
Relations between Turkey and Greece have deteriorated several times in the past few decades in a festering dispute over islands in the Aegean. On three occasions tensions have escalated close to the point of conflict.