Research vessel Ievoli Relume on Tuesday, July 23, south of Kassos and Karpathos islands with 5 warships in close proximity. Courtesy of Aegean Hawk (@AegeanHawk) via X/Twitter.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Naval Standoff in South Aegean Highlights the Fleeting Détente in Greek-Turkish Relations
The lasting impression of rapprochement between Greece and Turkey in their 50-year dispute over continental shelf delimitation and Turkey's pursuit of strategic control of the Aegean has been fleeting, as Turkish warships were deployed within the Greek Exclusive Economic Zone on July 23. Five surface units violated the Greek EEZ, delimitated with Egypt as per a partial delimitation agreement signed in 2020, seeking to prevent an underwater cable-laying operation by "Ievoli Relume," an Italian vessel conducting research for the deployment of the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI)—an electricity connection project between Crete and Cyprus.