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Turkey Extends Operations of Its Seismic Research Vessel off Cyprus by One Month

FILE PHOTO: Turkish research vessel Barbaros Hayrettin Pasa sails in the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey March 6, 2017. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik
FILE PHOTO: Turkish research vessel Barbaros Hayrettin Pasa sails in the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey March 6, 2017. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik
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Turkey Extends Operations of Its Seismic Research Vessel off Cyprus by One Month

FILE PHOTO: Turkish research vessel Barbaros Hayrettin Pasa sails in the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey March 6, 2017. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik
FILE PHOTO: Turkish research vessel Barbaros Hayrettin Pasa sails in the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey March 6, 2017. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik

Turkey said on Friday it extended the operations of its seismic research vessel Barbaros Hayrettin Pasa off southeastern Cyprus until Oct. 18.

Cyprus’ internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government has long been at loggerheads with Turkey, which began drilling for oil and gas near Cyprus last year.

The dispute stems from overlapping claims to regional waters linked to the split of the island between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. A breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in north Cyprus is recognized only by Ankara.

Turkey questions Cyprus’ right to explore in the seas around the island because it maintains that the Nicosia administration does not represent the interests of Turkish Cypriots, Reuters reported.

That argument is dismissed by Cyprus, which is legally recognized as representing the entire island.

Friday’s announcement came three days after Turkey extended the operations of its Yavuz drill ship off Cyprus until Oct. 12, in a move that Cyprus described as provocative.

Greece, also locked in dispute with Turkey over east Mediterranean waters, expressed concern.

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Russian Defense Minister Visits North Korea to Talk with Military and Political Leaders

In this photo taken from a video released by the Russian Defense Ministry press service, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, left, is welcomed by North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang Chol upon his arrival at Pyongyang International Airport outside Pyongyang, North Korea Friday, Nov.29, 2024. (Russian Defense Press Service via AP)
In this photo taken from a video released by the Russian Defense Ministry press service, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, left, is welcomed by North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang Chol upon his arrival at Pyongyang International Airport outside Pyongyang, North Korea Friday, Nov.29, 2024. (Russian Defense Press Service via AP)
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Russian Defense Minister Visits North Korea to Talk with Military and Political Leaders

In this photo taken from a video released by the Russian Defense Ministry press service, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, left, is welcomed by North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang Chol upon his arrival at Pyongyang International Airport outside Pyongyang, North Korea Friday, Nov.29, 2024. (Russian Defense Press Service via AP)
In this photo taken from a video released by the Russian Defense Ministry press service, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, left, is welcomed by North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang Chol upon his arrival at Pyongyang International Airport outside Pyongyang, North Korea Friday, Nov.29, 2024. (Russian Defense Press Service via AP)

Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov arrived in North Korea on Friday for talks with North Korean military and political leaders as the countries deepen their alignment over Russia’s war on Ukraine.
The defense ministry in announcing the visit didn’t specify who Belousov would be meeting or the purpose of the talks. North Korean state media didn’t immediately confirm the visit.
Belousov, a former economist, replaced Sergei Shoigu as defense minister in May after Russian President Vladimir Putin started a fifth term in power.
The visit came days after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met with a Ukrainian delegation led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov in the South Korean capital of Seoul and called for the two countries to formulate countermeasures in response to North Korea’s dispatch of thousands of troops to Russia in support of its fight against Ukraine.
The United States and its allies have said North Korea has sent more than 10,000 soldiers to Russia in recent weeks and that some of those troops were engaging in combat.
North Korea has also been accused of supplying artillery systems, missiles and other military equipment to Russia that may help Russian President Vladmir Putin further extend an almost three-year war. There are also concerns in Seoul that North Korea in exchange for its troops and arms supplies could receive Russian technology transfers that could potentially advance the threat posed by leader Kim Jong Un’s nuclear weapons and missile program.
Yoon’s national security adviser, Shin Wonsik, said in a TV interview last week that Seoul assesses that Russia has provided air defense missile systems to North Korea in exchange for sending its troops.
Shin said Russia has also appeared to have given economic assistance to North Korea and various military technologies, including those needed for the North’s efforts to build a reliable space-based surveillance system. Shin didn’t say whether Russia has already transferred sensitive nuclear weapons and ballistic missile technologies to North Korea.
The Russian media report about Belousov’s visit came as South Korea scrambled fighter jets to repel six Russian and five Chinese warplanes that temporarily entered the country’s air defense identification zone around its eastern and southern seas, according to the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. The joint chiefs said the Russian and Chinese planes did not breach South Korea’s territorial airspace.