Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


US Warship in Crete as Greek-Turkish Standoff Grows

Anthee Carassava

   ATHENS - The massive American warship, theUSS Hershel Woody Williams,
   has arrived at the Greek island of Crete as tensions escalate between
   NATO allies Greece and Turkeyover energy rightsin the eastern
   Mediterranean.

   The ship'spresencecomes days after a Turkish frigate, protecting an
   exploration ship that Ankara sent to the region to hunt for undersea
   oil and gas, collided with a Greek battleship on August 12, raising the
   stakes of the brewing maritime crisis.

   It also follows France's deployment of military forces to the region,
   providing military assistance to Greece in the crisis -- an active
   engagementthatthe US 6thFleet says it is avoiding for now.

   "We are not taking part in this standoff and theUSS Hershel Woody
   Williamshas not been sent to intervene," Commander Kyle Raines, press
   attaché for the US Sixth Fleet, told VOA.

   He said the ship's arrival at Souda Bay, in Crete was "scheduled."
   Still, should the situation between the two feuding NATOallies
   deteriorate and decision-makers in Washington decide toact,the ship
   couldintervene.

   "USS Hershel Woody Williamsis highly flexible and may be used across a
   broad range of military operations in support of national tasking,"
   Raines said.

   Military experts describe theUSS Hershel Woody Williamsas a floating
   base, the second of a new class of massive ships the US Navy isusing as
   fast transport and support centers for military operations.

   The 230-meter-long ship, about the size of some skyscrapers, was
   earlier in Naples, Italy, for a routine logistics stop before it sailed
   to Crete.

   Since the August12 maritime incident, Turkish President Recep Tayyip
   Erdogan has threatened to use force against any Greek attempt to block
   the Turkish exploratory ship,Oruc Reis,and five other battleships
   guiding its course.

   "If this goes on," he warned recently, "we will retaliate. We shall not
   leave either the dead or the living of our kin alone."

   The Greek government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis has been scrambling for
   weeks to convinceitsEuropean Union partners to slap sanctions on
   Turkey. It has also complained toNATOabout itsmaintaining equal
   distance from the regional antagonists.

   What is more, the growing number of warships gathering in the eastern
   Mediterranean, including, the arrival of a Russian warship, has experts
   in Greece concerned.

   The build-up comes weeks after Erdogan ordered the Oruc Reis to the
   eastern Mediterranean to survey for gas and oil.

   Greece says the seabed off the coast of Crete and other islands in the
   region are its own to exploit -- a claim Turkey has repeatedly refused,
   saying islands are not entitled to what is known as an exclusive
   economic zone.

   U.S.officials have not given details on how long it will remain in
   Crete's Souda Bay.

   Cyprus Foreign Minister NikosChristodoulidissays forces from other EU
   nations and countries in the region are likely to arrive and join the
   effort.

   He says it is something Greek officials are expecting to build up as
   they try to find a diplomatic solution.He praised the buildup as vivid
   proof of the West's resolve to block what he said is Turkey's growing
   influence in the region.

   Analyst KostasIfandis, a professor of military studies and diplomatic
   relations, doubts the show of force will change things very much.

   He says that if the situation gets dicey, we may see other countries
   like Egypt mobilizing. But from the EU's standpoint, he says, it is
   unlikely that this buildup will impact Turkey because its biggest
   trading partner and closest ally, Germany, is unlikely to join in such
   a maneuver.

   Currently chairing the EU's rotating presidency, German Chancellor
   Angela Merkel has been trying to convince Athens and Ankara
   tobeginnegotiations over the conflicting claims each sidehas toair and
   sea rights in the region.

   Germany has been reluctant to support stiff sanctions against Turkey,
   but it has advised the government in Ankara to pull back its survey
   vessel from the disputed waters.

   Turkey has said it will continue to survey the contested region through
   next week.

   But the buildup of vessels, submarines and even combat aircraft in the
   region, has experts fearing an accident like the Aug. 12 maritime
   collision could spark a bigger confrontation between Greece and Turkey.

.