The French military conducted the exercise together with the Greek fleet in the Mediterranean Sea off Crete.
The Greek Ministry of Defense confirmed that two Rafale fighters and a frigate Lafayette, sent by France to the Eastern Mediterranean, arrived in Crete on Thursday and conducted joint maneuvers with the Greek fleet.
According to the sources, it was the decision of French President Emmanuel Macron – he is concerned about Turkey’s decision to drill the shelf “unilaterally”.
It is noted that France wants to make sure that the region respects freedom of movement and safety of maritime navigation, as well as the rule of international law.
In recent days, tensions have increased between Greece and Turkey over the maritime border dispute. In early August, Greece and Egypt signed an agreement on the demarcation of maritime zones. Ankara said it did not recognize the document and dispatched the research vessel Oruc Reis, accompanied by a group of warships for seismic exploration on the sea shelf near Castelorizo. In response, Greece put its armed forces on alert.