Esen Fidanlik
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Turkish fishing boats entered Greek territorial waters south of the small island of Gavdos off West Crete on Wednesday.
This is the first time that Turkish ships appear in the western part of Crete. No further details were available on the raid.
The incident was handled by the Greek Coast Guard, although the Navy was also put on alert.
This development is seen as a direct violation of Greek rights in the exclusive economic zone, but it is also dangerous for two reasons: first, because it attempts to question sovereignty in an area where Greece has sovereignty indisputable, because this area is not included in the Turkish-Libyan Maritime Agreement (GNA), which Athens rejects anyway.
Second, because the appearance of Turkish fishing vessels in Gavdos waters is seen as an attempt to question the island’s right to territorial waters.
On May 11, the Italian navy accused Turkish fishing boats of throwing stones at two Italian ships in the Mediterranean Sea. The clashes are said to have taken place in northern Cyprus. Turkish ships carried out close maneuvers near the ships, according to the Italian Navy.
Turkey and the Tripoli-based National Accord Government (GNA) signed a maritime demarcation agreement, as well as a military cooperation agreement, in November 2019.
