France has announced plans to send two Rafale warplanes and a naval warship to the eastern Mediterranean amid signs of escalating tensions with Turkey. The French Ministry of the Armed Forces said on Thursday that the weapons were being sent as part of a plan to increase their military presence in the region.
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Earlier this week, French President Emmanuel Macron called on Turkey not to conduct oil and gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean, Reuters reported. But on Tuesday, a Turkish drilling ship set sail for the region to search for oil and gas, along with five ships of the Turkish navy, the BBC reported. Tensions are running high between NATO's two neighbors, Turkey and Greece.A statement from Macron's office on Wednesday said the French leader had expressed concern over Turkey's unilateral investigation into a phone conversation with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The statement added that Turkey's search should be suspended to facilitate peaceful talks between neighboring NATO members. Macron said in a statement that France would increase its military presence in the region to monitor the situation and uphold international law.
In July, Turkey announced plans to send their survey ships off the coast of the Greek island of Castolarijo. Then there was a dispute between the two countries. The dispute was settled with the mediation of Germany, the current president of the European Union (EU). But tensions have risen again as Turkey has launched a new survey. Greece has called on Turkey to recapture its survey ships, vowing to defend the country's sovereignty. In this situation, the EU has appealed to both sides to sit in dialogue. Greece is a member state of the EU.
Tensions between Greece and Turkey over gas reserves and maritime borders are expected to rise further. Conflicts between neighboring countries over exploration in the gas-rich East Mediterranean are nothing new. Turkey, Greece, Cyprus and Israel have been in dispute for a long time.
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