Turkey starts new drills in Mediterranean as tensions rise

The Turkish military has launched fresh war games in the eastern Mediterranean region, as tensions between Ankara and Athens mount over maritime borders and gas drilling rights.

During the drills, which started on Saturday and are expected to last two weeks, the Turkish military will carry out "shooting exercises" in a zone off the southern Turkish town of Anamur, north of the island of Cyprus, Ankara said in a message on NAVTEX, the international maritime navigational telex system.

Ankara had already announced on Thursday that military exercises would take place on Tuesday and Wednesday in a zone further east.

The dispute between Turkey and Greece over maritime borders and gas drilling rights has reignited the long-running Ankara-Athens rivalry, with the two neighbors staging rival naval drills.

The fresh war games were launched two days after Turkey intercepted six Greek F-16 jets in the Mediterranean in a sign of the volatility of the situation.

Video footage posted by the Turkish defense ministry on Friday purportedly showed Turkish Air Force planes preventing the Greek aircraft from entering the area where Turkey was operating. The F-16s had departed from the island of Crete and were heading towards southern Cyprus, Turkey said in a statement.

The current spike in tensions was caused by the deployment of the Turkish research vessel Oruc Reis into Greek waters on August 10.

The European Union on Friday warned Turkey it could face fresh sanctions -- including tough economic measures -- unless progress is made in reducing soaring tensions.

ME