Evangelos Apostolakis

Greek Defense Minister Evangelos Apostolakis reiterated his concern over Turkey's decision to carry out illegal drilling inside Cyprus' exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and called on the country to refrain from further unilateral actions that violate international law and undermine region's stability.

The head of the Greek delegation which is holding talks with their Turkish counterparts on reviving confidence building measures (CBMs) resigned on Monday, after Defense Minister Evangelos Apostolakis rejected his suggestion that talks should be interrupted until after the national elections.

In what is seen as part of a concerted effort by Ankara to entrench its presence in the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey issued a navigational telex Thursday reserving a sea area within its territorial waters north of Cyprus for drilling activities until mid-June.

Defense Minister Evangelos Apostolakis said on Thursday that ongoing talks between Greek and Turkish military delegations in Athens are solely focused on confidence-building measures between the two countries and remarks that they are anything beyond that are "out of touch with reality."

The Hellenic Navy has received its first modernized P-3B Orion maritime patrol aircraft from Lockheed Martin, the Greek Defense Ministry said.
The delivery, part of a US-Greece defense agreement that also includes the midlife upgrade of another four aircraft, was marked with a ceremony on Friday at Tanagra Air Base north of Athens.

With Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Katrougalos and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu expected to meet on Thursday on the sidelines of a Council of Europe ministerial meeting, Athens is reportedly attempting to keep communication lines open with Ankara despite the recent escalation of its operations in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean, where Turkish fighter jets violated Greek ai

Speaking at the 7th annual Exposec-Defenseworld Conference in Athens, US Ambassador to Athens Geoffrey Pyatt stressed that Greece's geostrategic location is key to security and stability in the Southeast Mediterranean.

With the Turkish drill ship "FATIH" having entered Cyprus' Exclusive Economic Zone one week ago and with Ankara having tied up an enormous  area around the Greek island of Kastellorizo for protracted military manoeuvres, Athens and Nicosia are in complete coordination in pursuing a major diplomatic push to force Ankara to back down from its expansionist stance.

By George Gilson

With tensions between Turkey on the one hand and Cyprus, Greece, Israel, and the US growing steadily, it was announced in Nicosia that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is expected to visit the island at an undetermined time, even as Moscow's Ambassador to Athens Andrey Maslov expressed fears over the escalation of tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean.

By George Gilson

With tensions between Turkey on the one hand and Cyprus, Greece, Israel, and the US growing steadily, it was announced in Nicosia that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is expected to visit the island at an undetermined time, even as Moscow's Ambassador to Athens Andrey Maslov expressed fears over the escalation of tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean.