Athens sees Turk effort to dispute Greek sovereignty in sea area around - KATHIMERINI

Kastelorizo Island, Greece

16.03.2017 : 22:10

Vassilis Nedos

In what is seen in Athens as an effort by Ankara to push through its message that Greece has limited sovereignty in the area of the Eastern Mediterranean surrounding the island of Kastelorizo, Turkish forces have in recent days maintained a steady presence in the region, either through military exercises or with the dispatch of research vessels.

According to a navigational telex (navtex) issued by Turkey, the Piri Reis oceanographic vessel will remain in the area south of Kastelorizo until Monday.

Furthermore, according to another two navigational telexes, Turkey is planning to conduct exercises with live ammunition in areas west and east of Kastelorizo (within Turkish territorial waters).

US-Israel-Greece poised for annual maritime drill in Eastern Mediterranean - DEFENSE NEWS

The Hellenic Navy Psara, F-454, front, sails past the Israeli Navy
Keshet, Saar 4.5, while transiting the Mediterranean Sea as seen from
the bridge wing of the U.S. destroyer Porter during Exercise Noble
Dina on April 4, 2016. Photo Credit, MC3 Robert S. Price/US Navy

March 7, 2017
Barbara Opall-Rome

ISRAELI NAVY HEADQUARTERS, Haifa – The trilateral Noble Dina exercise between the American, Israeli and Hellenic navies will begin later this month, with nearly a dozen surface ships, submarines and related air assets scheduled to engage in joint reconnaissance, counterterror and antisubmarine warfare training.

Cyprus will participate as an observer in the annual three-way drill, which begins in Greece and will conclude in mid-April here at the Israeli Navy headquarters in Haifa, said Commander Assaf Boneh, the head of international cooperation for the Israeli sea service.

“It’s one of our most important exercises that allows us to hone our proficiencies in very complex scenarios,” Boneh told Defense News. “We’ll be training in a vast area from Greece to Israel, and this gives us a lot of room to practice multiple scenarios that require jointness.”

Russia naval exercise ‘no coincidence’ to Turkish actions | CYPRUS MAIL

Presidents Anastasiades&Putin at the Asia-Europe Meeting in Milan

October 18, 2014
By Stefanos Evripidou

RUSSIA’s decision to hold navy exercises in waters east of the island on Monday, the same day Turkey intends to send its seismic research vessel into Cypriot offshore blocks, is no coincidence, government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said yesterday.

Speaking to the public broadcaster from Milan, Christodoulides said: “Nothing is by chance in politics.”

He made the comments after President Nicos Anastasiades met Russian President Vladimir Putin late on Thursday on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Milan.