Turkish Foreign Affairs Ministry | Greece must withdraw its military ships around Oruc Reis and the Greek Cypriots should cooperate with the “TRNC”

Greece is called on by the Turkish Foreign Affairs Ministry to withdraw its military ships around Oruc Reis and to stop militarising the islands of the eastern Aegean, including Kastelorizo. In the final announcement of the MED7 Euro-Meditterranen Summit, the Turkish Foreign Minister described the reports on the Eastern Mediterranean and Cyprus as “detached from reality”, claiming that they lacked a legal basis.

According to the statement of the Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister, “as last year, the references to the Eastern Mediterranean and Cyprus included in the final announcement of the Sixth Summit of the Southern Countries for the Euro-Mediterranean Summit MED7 on September 10, 2020 are detached from reality and lack a legal basis. We call on Greece to abandon its claims to maritime responsibilities which are both contrary to international law and maximalist. In order to de-escalate the tension, it is necessary for Greece to withdraw its military ships around our research ship Oruc Reis, to support the NATO initiative for de-escalation, to stop militarising the islands of the eastern Aegean, including Kastelorizo, and to end the growing pressure on the ‘Turkish minority’ in western Thrace,” the statement said.

Also read: M.Varvitsiotis | “Greece will not abandon Kastellorizo – Withdrawal of foreign troops from Cyprus”

The Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister also states that “Turkey is a country with the largest coastline in the Eastern Mediterranean and a candidate for EU membership”, adding that in order to have dialogue and cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean, Greece must sit at the table with Turkey without conditions, the Greek Cypriots must cooperate with the ‘TRNC’, which also rules on the island, for research, exploitation, fair sharing of hydrocarbon revenues and should not use the EU as a tool for their own narrow interests. The EU and the other countries that have signed this declaration must abandon the one-sided attitude they blindly pursue under the pretext of solidarity against international law and the European acquis. When solidarity is just, it’s applied in a just way. There is no solidarity with the unjust,” claims the Turkish Foreign Minister.

Source: CNA