Turkey is ready to start another war over the resources of the continental shelf

16

Aggressive expansionist policy Turkey is becoming a big problem for the entire Eastern Mediterranean region. First, Ankara actually annexed part of the northern provinces of Syria, then Turkish troops entered Libya. Now "Sultan" Recep is looking closely at the territory of Greece, which could lead to a real military conflict within the NATO bloc.

The small island of Kastelorizo ​​(Meisti), which is located just 2 kilometers from the Turkish coast, has become the “bone of contention”. For comparison, the nearest Greek island of Rhodes is 110 kilometers, and the mainland is 580 kilometers. Prior to the First World War, Kastelorizo ​​belonged to the Ottoman Empire, then went to Italy. The island passed under the sovereignty of Athens in 1947. In addition to "historical rights", the interest of modern Turkey in this piece of land measuring about ten square kilometers is determined by natural resources, which its owner has the right to claim.



To understand the overall picture, it must be borne in mind that Ankara has made a big bet on turning its country into a major regional energy hub. On the one hand, the TANAP - TAP and Turkish Stream gas pipelines have been built. On the other hand, the Turks themselves are actively conducting geological exploration of their offshore shelves in search of hydrocarbon deposits suitable for commercial development. Fatih Dönmez, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey, said:

With the prayers and support of our people, the Fatih vessel started the first drilling in the Black Sea. For Turkey's energy security, we will explore every square meter in our seas. And if there is something, then we will definitely find it.

In addition to the Black Sea, Ankara is conducting surveys in the Eastern Mediterranean, and this presents a big problem for its neighbors, since all sides interpret the limits of their maritime borders differently. The Greeks believe that ownership of the inhabited island of Kastelorizo ​​gives them the right to claim an exclusive economic an area of ​​40 thousand square kilometers. The Turks think otherwise, since the area of ​​the island is incomparably small to the claims of Athens.

Territorial disputes are themselves the cause of armed conflicts between states. But things are compounded by the fact that the Eastern Mediterranean region has reserves of natural gas, estimated at 3,45 trillion cubic meters, and 3,8 billion barrels of oil. Big jackpot. Thanks to the invasion of Libya, "Sultan" Recep was able to redraw the map of the sea shelf in his favor. This alone is already a prerequisite for a big war in northern Africa. Now Ankara can face a long-standing adversary in the person of Athens.

Despite protests from the Greeks, the research vessel Oruc Reis approached the shores of Kastelorizo ​​to conduct "seismic studies." Athens sent its navy there, after which 18 Turkish frigates and combat aircraft appeared near the island. It clearly smelled of a violent collision. German media reported that Chancellor Merkel had to personally call President Erdogan and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The conflict was stopped, as they say, in manual mode. The research vessel has left the disputed region. But for how long?

Turkey's aggressive expansion and a rather sluggish response from the West increasingly resemble the "appeasement" policy of one notorious "revanchist". It didn't end well last time. It remains to be hoped that some conclusions have been drawn from history, and Turkey's relations with its neighbors and former colonies will develop in a more constructive manner.
Our news channels

Subscribe and stay up to date with the latest news and the most important events of the day.

16 comments
Information
Dear reader, to leave comments on the publication, you must sign in.
  1. +2
    24 July 2020 12: 27
    Turkey is striding wide, the trousers will tear!
    1. -7
      24 July 2020 13: 44
      For Russia, this conflict of NATO countries only plays into the hands. Of course, Turkey needs to be supported in this scenario, the Greeks are too insignificant player in the region. By supporting Turkey, we will be able to play even more significant influence in the Mediterranean region. The United States has built and is building its influence on the creation of military blocs, so it's time for Russia to create its own military blocs. In the Middle East, the Turkey-Iran bloc of Russia is being created even without great efforts ...
      1. +3
        24 July 2020 18: 04
        Russia has already supported Turkey twice. The first time was under Lenin. The sultans, having received help, began to spoil the Russian Federation again, they spoiled Russia and in Chechnya. It is stupid to support the Islamists, they do nothing but harm Russia. And Turkey has always supported and now supports Islamic scumbags.
        1. -5
          24 July 2020 18: 23
          There has always been a political war, and the enemies have won and are still winning Russia. As of today, the Russian Federation has neither friends nor allies ... In particular, Germany lured friendly Turkey and fanned hostility to Russia in the 30s. The Turks are not to blame for the fact that Germany was more acceptable than Soviet Russia. Since that time, Turkey has been supported by the entire West in the key of hostility to Russia. This policy must be interrupted, and with efforts to pull over to our side. But the Russian Federation has a comprador government, for which personal interests are more important than Russia ...
          1. 0
            24 July 2020 22: 54
            And no one has friends and allies. In fact, there is only a temporary coincidence of interests. Remember the Hundred Years War in Europe, so there allies changed for opponents and this war is not the only episode. In the same England, they always said - England has no permanent enemies and allies, but there are permanent interests ... Turkey has always been an enemy of Russia, and it will remain, because Turkey's interests are always in conflict with the interests of Russia, and the fact that Putin and Lenin helped Turkey, the sultans never appreciated and will not appreciate! Unfortunately, here we have precisely the personal interests of a number of officials, when the same Chernomyrdin, to the detriment of Russia, supplied Ukraine with orders, instead of developing domestic industry. Here we have a drawback that the Russian Federation inherited from the USSR, namely the belief in the tales of internationalism. It does not exist and has never existed, therefore the FSB catches first one visitor, then another for espionage in favor of their Ukraine and Georgia ... In Saudi Arabia, only the indigenous population has the right to citizenship and benefits, and this is a good example for Russia, they will not betray their own , they do not have the eternally hungry Bandera and Basmach relatives abroad.
            1. -5
              25 July 2020 09: 47
              Quote:

              And no one has friends and allies.

              You are wrong, you always have allies, you rarely have friends, we have only one ally left - Belarus ... You are not aware of the processes in politics, or you are deliberately distorting ... Therefore, a substantive conversation will not work ...
              1. +4
                26 July 2020 01: 49
                Do not tell us, for God's sake. Well, what allies, especially from Sashka the Sly, who rushes with one booty for two chairs, like Yanukovych before him. This one has already called Russia an occupier who imposed his wars on Belarus during his trip to Kazakhstan. The Yankees and their allies are also not important. As soon as the Yankees cut the funding of Pakistan, he increasingly began to send the Yankees with their Wishlist away and now they are more likely the six of China than an ally of the United States ... There are many of them.
                1. -1
                  26 July 2020 10: 00
                  You are engaged in anti-Russian, anti-Belarusian demagoguery, which has nothing to do with real politics ... Another issue is the comprador government of the Russian Federation, it is busy plundering the state's resources and impoverishing the people. But signs of a change of compradors in power are becoming louder and louder ...
                  1. +3
                    26 July 2020 10: 17
                    I am not engaged in anti-Russian policy, and the policy of all the former republics of the USSR that separated from Russia is Russophobic and anti-Russian.
                    1. 0
                      26 July 2020 12: 55
                      These are the consequences of the essentially anti-Russian activities of the governments of the Gaidars, Chernomyrdins, Lifshits, Medvedev-Mendels, Lavrovs-Lavermans, etc. As a result of their activities, all countries have become Russophobic, even the last Belarus goes there ...
                      1. +1
                        26 July 2020 14: 19
                        The republics of the USSR separated from Russia not through the fault of Medvedev, although he has a lot of sins, and I do not deny them, but through the fault of their tsars, such as Kravchuk and Kuchma, with the support of the population sick with Russophobia, and there are the majority of them.
                      2. 0
                        26 July 2020 16: 24
                        Kravchuk and Kuchma are also Jews, which they hide by their wide Ukrainianity. So on both sides, the same Semites rob the states, and the Slavs destroy each other ...
                      3. +2
                        26 July 2020 20: 25
                        I do not care if they are Jews or Malays, for me it is only important that the actions of these Hitlers were approved by the majority of the population of the fascist states, the former republics of the USSR, separated from Russia.
  2. -5
    25 July 2020 08: 02
    - Well, but what ... - It remains only to paraphrase the saying of Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov ... - "Turkey stretches wide ... its hands in human affairs" ... - Hahah ...
  3. 0
    25 July 2020 11: 07
    ... a rather sluggish response from the West ...

    Was it necessary to start a war within NATO? However, as soon as Angela called, and the Turkish ships fell.
    And so - everything is the same ...
    Turkey makes all the same mistakes: it tries to pretend to be a power of the first rank and plays against everyone.
    A completely suicidal policy.
  4. +2
    29 July 2020 18: 11
    Erdogan's Turkey is so "big" that it no longer knows how to declare itself more abruptly and stronger. I climbed into Syria, I declared myself in Libya, I am ready for the Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict, now I’m still fighting with the Greeks and that's it ...