Turkey to launch major naval exercise in Aegean, Mediterranean

Turkey announced on Monday that it will conduct a large-scale naval exercise in the Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea between February 25 and March 7.

The announcement came from the Turkish Ministry of Defence, which said that Turkish Naval Forces will launch the exercise dubbed “Blue Homeland 2021.”

The Turkish Army and the Air Force will also participate in the drill.

According to the announcement, the purpose of the exercise is to evaluate the preparedness of the headquarters, units and ships affiliated with the Naval Forces Command.

READ MORE: Turkey issues fresh NAVTEX warnings demanding demilitarisation of 6 Greek islands.

A total of 82 ships, 5 maritime patrol aircraft, 12 naval helicopters and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Amphibious Marine Corps troops will participate.

This military activity in the Aegean and the Mediterranean comes at a time when Athens and Ankara are supposedly organising the next round of exploratory talks.

Talks are expected to take place in Athens sometime in March. Greece has sent an invitation to Turkish officials but for now, there has been no official confirmation of the date.

READ MORE: Greece and Turkey launch Mediterranean crisis talks after 5 years.

Source: Ekathimerini.