U.S., Germany slam Turkey for returning ship to disputed East Med waters

The United States and Germany, Turkey's two key Western allies, took aim at Ankara's decision to resume searching for hydrocarbons in waters contested with Greece, with both governments denouncing it as a provocation.

The United States slammed Turkey’s announcement on Sunday to send the Oruç Reis seismic research ship to the disputed waters, blaming it for escalating tensions in the region and ‘deliberately’ complicating the resumption of planned talks with Athens.

"We urge Turkey to end this calculated provocation and immediately begin exploratory talks with Greece," State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said.

"Turkey's announcement unilaterally raises tensions in the region and deliberately complicates the resumption of crucial exploratory talks between our NATO allies Greece and Turkey," she said.

"Coercion, threats, intimidation and military activity will not resolve tensions in the eastern Mediterranean."

Turkey "must end the cycle of detente and provocation,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told reporters in Cyprus on Tuesday before heading for Greece, according to Agence France Presse.

"And the moment that this vessel embarks on a new search for hydrocarbons in the disputed maritime areas, this will truly be a serious blow to de-escalation efforts," Maas said.

“We’ve all been very surprised by what we’ve seen from the Turkish side in recent days,” Maas said later on Tuesday after visiting Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens, according to news website Euroactiv.

Turkey criticised the U.S. State Department statement, saying that Washington did not recognise the so-called Seville Map cited by Greece for its maritime claims.

"It is thus a serious contradiction for the United States to criticise Oruç Reis' seismic survey activities as carried out within the Turkish continental shelf," Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said in a statement on Tuesday.

Tensions between Turkey and Greece escalated in August when Turkey sent the Oruç Reis to an area south of the Greek island of Kastellorizo, a maritime zone claimed by Athens. Tensions eased when the ship returned to port late last month and both sides said they were ready to resume talks on territorial boundaries suspended in 2016.

However, Turkey announced on Sunday that the vessel would conduct work in the same disputed area.

The Oruç Reis was located some 80 kilometres south of Kastellorizo under “restricted manoeuvrability” as of 6:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday, according to shipping website marinetraffic.com. Its current status is “out of range”, it said.