UPDATE - E.Med: Turkish seismic vessel returns for maintenance

UPDATES WITH FURTHER REMARKS BY TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER; ADDS BACKGROUND; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Ali Murat Alhas

ANKARA (AA) - The Turkish foreign minister on Monday said the country’s seismic exploration vessel operating in the Eastern Mediterranean returned home to replenish supplies and maintenance.

Mevlut Cavusoglu said on a live broadcast of the private channel NTV that the return of the vessel -- Oruc Reis -- did not mean a change in Turkey's exploration policy in the region.

The tension in the Eastern Mediterranean region would not disappear if Greece did not give up on the Seville map, respect the Turkish continental shelf and stop its demands revolving around maximalist approach regarding islands and Meis, Cavusoglu added.

The so-called Seville map attempts to restrict Turkey’s Mediterranean sovereignty area to 41,000 square kilometers, restraining the country to the shoreline.

According to the top diplomat, interpreting the return of the vessel as if Turkey withdrew from the region was wrong and a new navtex (navigational alert) was not issued due to the maintenance activities.

Cavusoglu said Turkey could have direct talks with Greece to resolve disputes in the Eastern Mediterranean, however, Ankara will also come up with preconditions if Athens insists on doing so.

He said one of Turkey’s conditions in this regard was that the Greek Cypriots stopped ignoring the Turkish Cypriots in the island of Cyprus.

Tensions in the region have been high since Turkey resumed energy exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean last month, after Greece and Egypt signed a controversial maritime delimitation deal, spurning Ankara’s goodwill gesture of halting a previous search.

Despite opposition from Greece and some other countries, Turkey has repeatedly extended its research vessel Oruc Reis’s energy exploration in an area within Turkey’s continental shelf, with the latest announced on Aug. 31, this time to last until Sept. 12.

Turkey has consistently opposed Greece's efforts to declare an exclusive economic zone based on small islands near Turkish shores, violating the interests of Turkey, the country with the longest coastline in the Mediterranean.

Ankara has also stressed energy resources near the island of Cyprus must be shared fairly between the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and the Greek Cypriot administration.