Ankara further reduces military drills at sea
Ahead of Sunday’s election in Greece’s eastern neighbor across the Aegean, messages from Turkey arriving in Athens in recent days indicate additional reductions in military exercises.
Although a Turkish Navy drill had been planned before the official moratorium of the Papoulias-Yilmaz memorandum from June 15 to September 15, information from Ankara on Friday suggested that it would be postponed or even canceled.
According to military sources, this knowledge also answers the concern raised in Athens regarding why the Turkish authorities had not yet issued the requisite navigational warning (Navtex), despite the fact that these planned drills typically reserve regions several days in advance.
Athens is looking ahead to the runoff election in Turkey, as despite the relative certainty of Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s re-election as president of the country, Greece will be under a caretaker government for about a month. The appointment of experienced persons such as Vassilis Kaskarelis to the Foreign Ministry and Alkiviadis Stefanis at the Ministry of Defense, is seen ensuring coherence and continuity until the Greek election on June 25.
