Egypt, Turkey show off naval strength in eastern Mediterranean

Turkey conducted a military drill in the eastern Mediterranean that was followed by an Egyptian-French drill amid tensions in the region among Turkey, Greece and Cyprus on gas exploration, and between Turkey and Egypt on Libya.
A picture taken at the port of Dilovasi, outside Istanbul, on June 20, 2019 shows the drilling ship 'Yavuz' scheduled to search for oil and gas off Cyprus. - Turkey is set to send a new ship on June 20 to search for oil and gas off Cyprus, in a move expected to escalate tensions after the EU called on Ankara to stop its "illegal drilling activities". The region near the divided island is believed have rich natural gas deposits, triggering a race between Turkey and the internationally recognised Cyprus, whic
A picture taken at the port of Dilovasi, outside Istanbul, shows the drilling ship Yavuz scheduled to search for oil and gas off Cyprus, June 20, 2019. - BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images
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Hagar Hosny
@HagarHosny

CAIRO — The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced July 25 via Twitter that the Turkish air force carried out military exercises in the eastern Mediterranean. It also posted photos and videos confirming the drill.

This comes in light of the escalating regional tensions between Turkey, Greece and Cyprus over gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean, as well as between Turkey and Egypt on Libya.

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