Russia enters EastMed fray, offers to mediate with Turkey

As Turkey bemoans its loneliness in a bitter row with Greece over energy exploration in the Mediterranean Sea, Moscow says it is ready to step in to mediate talks.
A picture taken on September 25, 2019 in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Cyprus approximately 20 nautical miles (37 kilometers) north-west of Paphos, shows a Turkish army frigate, the TCG Gelibolu, (R) and the drilling vessel Fatih (L), which was deployed by Turkey to search for gas and oil in waters considered part of the EU state's exclusive economic zone (EEZ). (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo credit should read -/AFP via Getty Images)
A picture taken on Sept. 25, 2019, in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Cyprus shows a Turkish army frigate, the TCG Gelibolu, (R) and the drilling vessel Fatih (L), which was deployed by Turkey to search for gas and oil in waters considered part of the EU state's exclusive economic zone. - AFP via Getty Images
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Ayla Jean Yackley
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ISTANBUL — Russia is offering to mediate with Turkey in a dispute over energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean Sea after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan questioned the European Union’s sincerity on resolving a bitter row with members Cyprus and Greece.

Turkey has long been at odds with neighboring Greece and arch foe Cyprus over what demarcates maritime borders in the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas. Now, a Turkish seismic research ship backed by naval warships is exploring in the disputed waters, pitching tensions to their most dangerous levels in decades.

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