The Hellenic National Defense General Staff (GEETHA) released a series of photographs on Tuesday from the sea area near the Greek island of Kastellorizo, showing Greek warships forming a protective wall to prevent the Turkish research ship Oruc Reis from entering Greek waters.
Defense sources say that this dense formation indicates that, within the 12 nautical miles limit, the Oruc Reis would, at least on Tuesday, not have been able to proceed with seismic surveys.
The photographs also intended to show that Athens will not hesitate to defend its rights by military means if necessary.
Earlier, the Turkish seismic survey ship had come within less than nine nautical miles from the island. The Turkish vessel – accompanied by warships – entered an area where Greece reserves the right to extend its territorial waters.
GEETHA is not ruling out the possibility of a repeat of the incident in the summer when a Greek and Turkish frigate collided during the standoff between the two navies. As a result, instructions have been given for caution to avoid possible provocations.
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