Turkey warned Greece on Tuesday not to escalate tensions in the eastern Mediterranean or it will not hesitate to do “what is necessary,” though it said it wanted to solve the issue through dialogue and diplomacy.

A handout photo made available by the Greek National Defense Ministry shows part of an aeronautical exercise held in the Eastern Mediteranean. Frigates, submarines, aircraft and members of the special operations forces took part in the exercise which began on Tuesday at dawn, and will last until Thursday night.

Greece, France and Cyprus will conduct a joint aeronautical exercise west of the Mediterranean island from August 26-28, state-run Athens-Macedonia news agency (ANA-MPA) reported Tuesday.

The Hellenic National Defense General Staff (GEETHA) on Tuesday published photographic and video footage from a Greek-American naval and air force exercise that took place south of Crete on Monday.

Just when it seemed that Greece and Turkey were entering a phase of de-escalation, the two countries appeared on Monday to be heading for another crisis in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Amid a new diplomatic effort, led by Berlin, to diffuse tension between Greece and Turkey, Athens has made it clear that the prospect of Ankara announcing exploratory activities in areas south or east of Crete that are designated in the Turkey-Libya memorandum is a red line that it will not allow to be crossed.

Four F-16 fighter jets of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be delployed at the Souda Air Base in Crete in the next few hours, following Thursday’s call between the head of the Greek Armed Forces and his Emirati counterpart.

The head of the Greek Armed Forces discussed developments in the eastern Mediterranean on Thursday with his counterparts from Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, the Hellenic National Defense General Staff (GEETHA) said in a press release.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday called for the de-escalation of tensions in the eastern Mediterranean, describing the situation as “very dangerous.”

Greece is prepared to hold talks with Turkey in the framework of international law on the condition that Turkey immediately withdraws its warships and seismic research vessels from the Greek continental shelf, Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos said Tuesday, according to state-run Athens-Macedonia news agency (ANA-MPA).

 

Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos discussed tensions in the eastern Mediterranean with his German counterpart Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer in a phone call on Tuesday.

Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos on Tuesday congratulated the captain of the Greek frigate that accidentally collided with a Turkish ship during a standoff in the eastern Mediterranean last week, in a move that officially confirmed the incident.

USS Hershel “Woody" Williams arrived at the US naval base in Souda Bay on Crete on Tuesday, as part of its inaugural deployment in the US Sixth Fleet region.

Any move against Turkey’s vessels in the Eastern Mediterranean will get a response, the country’s defense minister, Hulusi Akar, said in a video message to Turkish crew members.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that Greece had attacked its seismic survey vessel Oruc Reis and warned that if it does so again in the future, Turkey will retaliate.

A Greek and a Turkish warship were involved in a mini-collision on Wednesday during a standoff in the eastern Mediterranean, a Greek defense source said, describing it as an "accident."

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias is expected to present photographic material and videos from Thursday’s collision between the Greek frigate Limnos and the Turkish vessel Kemal Reis in the Eastern Mediterranean at Friday’s extraordinary EU Foreign Affairs Council.

Greece’s prime minister warmly thanked France Thursday for boosting its military presence in the eastern Mediterranean, where Greek and Turkish warships are closely shadowing each other over a Turkish energy exploration bid in waters Athens claims as its own.

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that the only solution to Turkey's dispute with Greece over energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean was through dialogue and negotiation, and Ankara was not chasing any "adventures" in the region.

The French military conducted training exercises with Greek forces off the southern island of Crete on Thursday, defence sources said, as tension persisted with Turkey over disputed waters in the eastern Mediterranean.