Ankara raises stakes in Eastern Mediterranean

In an apparent bid to entrench what it sees as its rights in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean, Ankara has reserved an area stretching south from the Aegean island of Rhodes to the western coast of Cyprus to explore for oil and gas. 

Turkey dispatched the Fatih drillship on Friday morning from its southern port of Antalya with three support vessels and a frigate in the direction of a sea area 60 kilometers off the western coastal city of Paphos within Cyprus' continental shelf, in violation of island nation's sovereign rights. 

According to a navigational telex (Navtex) issued by Ankara, the Fatih will conduct exploratory activities southwest of an area where, according to Athens and Nicosia, the continental shelves of Greece and Cyprus meet. 

However, it remained unclear on Friday whether the Fatih will begin operations in this specific area or...