DM Monitoring
ANTALYA: Greece must halt its provocations for relations to grow and to avoid further escalation, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu stated on Sunday, speaking on the bilateral ties between the two neighbors that have become tense due to conflicts concerning drilling rights and maritime borders in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Addressing reporters during the last day of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, Çavuşoğlu stated that there was a gentleman’s agreement not to hold any exercises in the Aegean during the tourism season in the summer. He said: “Greece is now declaring NAVTEX. We had an agreement not to hold NAVTEX and exercises on national days as well. Greece broke this as well. They should give up these provocations.”
When asked about the state of relations between Turkey and Greece, Çavuşoğlu said that a dialogue between the two countries was opened after tensions rose in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean. Explaining that the consultations between the countries have resumed and that confidence-building talks are being held, Çavuşoğlu continued: “Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias came. I went there. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Greek Prime Minister Kiriakos Mitsotakis met in Brussels. The meeting went well. Have all the problems been resolved? No.”
“These talks show our determination to solve our problems through dialogue. This determination and sincerity will continue. Greece needs to give up provocations. We go to the press conferences and everything is fine, but then my friend Dendias says many things behind our back. There is no need for this. We ignore it,” he added.
Calling on Greece to stick to international agreements, Çavuşoğlu said: “We need to give up provocative steps and provocation. I know that they are trying to satisfy their own people because there is a lot of pressure on them. We want to turn the dialogue we started into concrete steps. We are sincere and determined.”
Greece did not join the forum because of the participation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Çavuşoğlu noted. Former European commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos and Theodora Bakoyannis – both former Greek foreign ministers – were originally scheduled to attend but neither participated in the forum.
Çavuşoğlu also said that ahead of the forum, the Greek Cypriot administration called countries, telling them not to participate.
Turkey, which has the longest continental coastline in the Eastern Mediterranean, has rejected the maritime boundary claims of Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration, stressing that these excessive claims violate the sovereign rights of both Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots.
Turkish leaders have repeatedly stressed that Ankara is in favor of resolving all outstanding problems in the region through international law, good neighborly relations, dialogue and negotiation.
Turkey has also criticized the EU’s stance on the Eastern Mediterranean conflict, calling on the bloc to adopt a fair attitude regarding the dispute and give up favoring Greece under the pretext of EU solidarity.
