Turkey and Greece have mutually cancelled military drills set earlier this month by Ankara for this Wednesday, Oct. 28 and by Athens for Thursday, Oct. 29.

Axar.az informs that Navtex is a maritime communications system that allows ships to inform other vessels about their presence in an area, as well as other information.

Amid tensions between Turkey and Greece in the Eastern Mediterranean, on Oct. 8 Greece issued an alert that it would hold maritime shooting drills on Turkey’s Republic Day national holiday, in what seemed a deliberate provocation.

After Greece issued its alert for Oct. 29, Turkey in response issued its own Navtex alert for shooting drills for a day prior, Oct. 28.

Tensions have recently escalated regarding the issue of energy exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean.