Turkey's Erdogan talks to French President Macron about tensions in Eastern Mediterranean

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held talks with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron over the phone on September 22. The two leaders discussed bilateral relations between Turkey and France, Turkey, and the European Union, regional developments including tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean. The conversation between Erdogan and Macron is the first since tensions escalated between Turkey and Greece in the Mediterranean, in which France sided with its European Union ally. 

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President Erdogan indicated during the conversation that the ignorance of the legitimate rights of Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots in the Eastern Mediterranean was the reason for the tension in the region, and stated that he failed to understand France’s support for the maximalist claims and steps of Greece and the Greek Cypriots that served to further escalate the tension, said Turkey's Communications Directorate in a statement on Tuesday.

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Tensions in the Mediterranean 

Tensions between Greece and Turkey have risen amid both countries’ claims to the same parts of the eastern Mediterranean Sea over significant gas reserves and maritime rights. The dispute in the eastern Mediterranean stems from the fact that Greece believes that the small Greek islands that are located near Turkey’s coasts should not be taken into account when deciding maritime boundaries, which is disputed by Turkey. Turkey has repeatedly accused Greece of trying to take a larger than its appropriate share of the resources present in the eastern Mediterranean. 

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Tensions between Turkey and Cyprus have also escalated in the recent past after the Turkish military on September 6 began its annual exercise in the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, an entity that is recognized only by Ankara. Following the announcement of the drills, Turkey garnered criticism from the European Union, which threatened to impose sanctions on Ankara. 

Read: Turkey Begins Annual Military Drill In Cyprus As Tension Escalates In Mediterranean