Retired admiral says Athens, Nicosia ‘testing Turkey’s patience’

Amid tension over hydrocarbon-related activity in Cyprus’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), retired Rear Admiral Cem Gurdeniz has warned the governments in Nicosia and Athens that their actions are “testing Turkey’s patience.”

“They believe that if Turkey backs down on this one, it will also back down on other issues,” Gurdeniz was quoted as telling Turkey’s Milliyet newspaper.

“Because Turkey is conducting a serious operation on its southern border, in Syria, and the [Turkish] public has focused its attention on it, they see an ‘opportunity’ here,” he was quoted as saying.

“Every time they behaved in such an opportunistic manner, they suffered substantial territorial losses.”