ATHENS (GREECE) – Amid escalating tensions with neighbouring Turkey, Greece conducted military drills with France off the southern island of Crete on Thursday. Ties with Turkey are strained over disputed waters in the eastern Mediterranean.
The military exercise with Greece on Thursday was the first sign of French President Emmanuel Macron’s commitment to reinforce his country’s presence in the eastern Mediterranean. France urged Turkey to halt oil and gas exploration in disputed waters.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had a telephone conversation with Macron to discuss the situation in the region on Wednesday.
On Thursday, France said it was sending two Rafale fighter jets and the frigate ‘Lafayette’ to the eastern Mediterranean to carry out joint exercises with Greek forces.
“Emmanuel Macron is a true friend of Greece and a fervent defender of European values and international law,” Mitsotakis tweeted in French after his telephone call.
With both Greece and Turkey staking claims to hydrocarbon resources in the Mediterranean Sea, tensions have been rising between the two NATO allies.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field