A crisis took place in late March 1987 between

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

as part of the

Aegean dispute Aegean may refer to: *Aegean Sea * Aegean Islands *Aegean Region (geographical), Turkey *Aegean Region (statistical), Turkey *Aegean civilizations *Aegean languages, a group of ancient languages and proposed language family *Aegean Sea (theme), a ...

. Turkey learned that Greece was starting to drill for oil in the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...

in the vicinity of

Thasos Thasos or Thassos ( el, Θάσος, ''Thásos'') is a Greek island in the North Aegean Sea. It is the northernmost major Greek island, and 12th largest by area. The island has an area of and a population of about 13,000. It forms a separate re ...

, a Greek territory. In response, the Turkish survey ship ''Piri Reis'' (and later the RV ''MTA Sismik 1'') was sent to the area with an escort of Turkish warships.

Background

Oil was discovered off Thasos, in 1973. Greece claimed ownership of

mineral rights Mineral rights are property rights to exploit an area for the minerals it harbors. Mineral rights can be separate from property ownership (see Split estate). Mineral rights can refer to sedentary minerals that do not move below the Earth's surfac ...

in the

continental shelf A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an island ...

extending from beneath all its islands in the Aegean. Turkey proposed that the continental shelf be divided through negotiations.

Events

In March 1987, a decision of the Greek government to nationalize the consortium of companies that was drilling oil off Thasos, and planned exploratory oil drilling east of the island of Thasos, such as the impression by Turkey that Greece was planning new researches for oil, provoked tension between the two countries. The crisis escalated, armed forces of both countries were on alert, and each side said they would use force if obstructed by the other. The incident nearly started a war between Greece and Turkey. Greek prime minister

Andreas Papandreou Andreas Georgiou Papandreou ( el, Ανδρέας Γεωργίου Παπανδρέου, ; 5 February 1919 – 23 June 1996) was a Greek economist, politician and a dominant figure in Greek politics, known for founding the political party PASOK, wh ...

gave the orders to sink the ship if it was found in Greek waters. Turkish Prime Minister

Turgut Özal Halil Turgut Özal (; 13 October 192717 April 1993) was a Turkish politician, who served as the 8th President of Turkey from 1989 to 1993. He previously served as the 26th Prime Minister of Turkey from 1983 to 1989 as the leader of the Mothe ...

said that "If Greece interferes with our vessel in any way, and this is what Papandreou is saying, we will act in the same way against him", "As a result, it could be cause for war," but he also added that "We are waiting for the first move from them." The Greek foreign minister

Karolos Papoulias Karolos Papoulias ( el, Κάρολος Παπούλιας ; 4 June 1929 – 26 December 2021) was a Greek politician who served as the president of Greece from 2005 to 2015. A member of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), he previously ...

was sent to

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

(then a member of the

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republic ...

) for discussions. The Greek government gave orders for the suspension of operation of the base of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

Nea Makri Nea Makri ( el, Νέα Μάκρη) is a town in East Attica, Greece. Since the local government reform of 2011, it has been a municipal unit within the municipality of Marathon. The municipal unit has an area of 36.662 km2. It is part of the ...

, while the Greek forces and Navy were alarmed. Britain's

Lord Carrington Peter Alexander Rupert Carington, 6th Baron Carrington, Baron Carington of Upton, (6 June 1919 – 9July 2018), was a British Conservative Party politician and hereditary peer who served as Defence Secretary from 1970 to 1974, Foreign Secret ...

, the secretary general of NATO, urged Greece and Turkey to avoid the use of force and offered to act as a mediator.

References

{{reflist Greece–Turkey relations 1987 in Turkey 1987 in Greece Conflicts in 1987 International maritime incidents Andreas Papandreou

Background

Events

See also

References