Author: Zaal Margvelashvili, Research Fellow at the Levan Mikeladze Diplomatic Training and Research Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia

August 2020

Tensions escalated in the Eastern Mediterranean in summer 2020 after Turkey sent a survey ship, accompanied by warships, on 10 August, to the territory near the island of Kastellorizo, which Turkey declared as its own exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Greece claiming jurisdiction over the island called on Turkey to return the ships to its ports and refrain from infringing on the sovereign rights of Greece. Moreover, the Greek government placed on full alert its armed forces monitoring Turkish warships and urged the EU partners and institutions for support.
The escalating tension between Turkey and Greece reflects competing interests around energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean. Turkey and Greece are at loggerheads over territories and energy resource recovery in the Eastern Mediterranean
Vast deposits of natural gas were discovered across the coastline of Cyprus a few years ago. Some estimates put the size of the reserves at 3.5 trillion cubic metres, which would put the region on a par with Venezuela and Nigeria. Additionally, there is a further 5.13 trillion cubic metres of gas estimated to be in the Nile Basin. This prompted the Greek government of Cyprus, Greece, Israel and Egypt to launch cooperation in building a 2000-km-pipeline that would funnel gas to Europe. Turkey known for its go-it-alone policy in the region and interests that are sometimes different from those of its neighbors and NATO allies was pointedly not invited.