⁍ German foreign minister Heiko Maas criticized Turkey for sending a survey vessel back into controversial waters of the eastern Mediterranean.

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⁍ Maas, whose trip was supposed to mediate and reduce tensions in the region, said he had deliberately left Ankara out of his itinerary.

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⁍ On Monday, the Turkish ship Oruc Reis set sail to carry out seismic surveys in the eastern Mediterranean.

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– The Turkish ship Oruc Reis set sail Monday to carry out seismic surveys in the eastern Mediterranean, prompting Greece to issue a furious new demand for European Union sanctions on Ankara in a row over offshore hydrocarbon exploration rights. On Monday, the Turkish ship Oruc Reis set sail to carry out seismic surveys in the eastern Mediterranean, prompting Greece to issue a furious new demand for European Union sanctions on Ankara in a row over offshore hydrocarbon exploration rights, the AP reports. In a statement, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras slammed Turkey for “unilaterally” sending the Oruc Reis back into waters off the coast of Greece that have been off-limits to Turkish oil and gas exploration. “The Turkish government’s decision to return the Oruc Reis to Turkish waters is a clear violation of international law,” Tsipras said, calling for EU sanctions “to be imposed as soon as possible.” Reuters reports that German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas criticized Turkey for sending the survey vessel back into controversial waters of the eastern Mediterranean, calling the unilateral move a blow to efforts to start negotiations in the conflict. “Turkey’s back and forth between escalation and a policy of detente has to stop,” Maas said after meeting his Cypriot counterpart Nikos Christodoulides in Nicosia on Tuesday. “It is up to Turkey to create the conditions for talks.”