N. Dendias: Turkey’s revision puts the Eastern Mediterranean in danger

“I have thoroughly informed my American counterpart about all the provocative actions of Turkey,” said Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias in an interview with Real News, referring to his recent meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blon.

“I presented to my interlocutor irrefutable evidence of Turkish delinquency, with maps that clearly show what is happening in the Aegean, but also in the Eastern Mediterranean.”

As he points out, Mr. Blinken was informed about the escalation of the Turkish delinquent behavior, the Turkish provocations, the overflights over the Greek territory and especially in residential areas.

“And this at a historical juncture in which NATO must be more than ever an unbreakable Alliance,” he said.

Mr. Dendias also referred to the casus belli, the illegal and non-existent “Turkish-Libyan memorandum”, while reiterating Greece’s firm position to promote bilateral relations on the basis of International Law and the Law of the Sea, principles which are embraced fully US.

“Our country operates on the basis of non-negotiable principles and values, consolidating its position not only vis-στις-vis the United States, but also to the entire international community as a credible ally who respects and enforces the laws and rules of international order,” he said. Mr. Dendias adds: “Unlike Turkey, which is an insolvent partner with unreasonable claims and sometimes does not hesitate to break rules solely for its own benefit.”

“Greece is part of the solution and not the problem, in contrast to its neighbor which with its revisionist tendencies and ambiguous attitude within NATO challenges not only our country, but the unity itself and the future of the Alliance” , underlines.

Mr Dendias described Turkey as “a ‘quirky’ partner within NATO” that “endangers not only the wider Eastern Mediterranean region, but the very nature of the international legal order”.

He notes that the problem “does not concern exclusively Greek-Turkish relations, but primarily the way in which a reviewing force corrects its unilateral claims against its partners and allies, violating basic principles of international law.”

“Greece is on constant alert, strengthening alliances and synergies, while reaffirming its timeless role as a factor of stability and security in the wider region,” he said.

Regarding the US position on the Turkish provocation and the violation of Greece’s sovereign rights, he notes that this is “a given” and has been expressed in several of their public statements, such as the Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement and the letters of US Secretary of State Pompeo and Blinken. but also to the response reserved by the Congress to the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

“It was a unique moment in modern Greek history, and especially for those of us who were fortunate enough to watch it live, a moving experience that suggests the level of relations between the two countries,” he notes.

The Foreign Minister also stressed that we should not look at Greek-American relations in the light of a “Turkish-centralist approach”, as “they have their own dynamics”.

Asked about the decision of Sweden and Finland to join NATO, he points out that Greece strongly supports this sovereign decision.

“Sweden and Finland’s participation in NATO will strengthen us and increase our common security,” he said.

“At the same time, it will strengthen the group of democracies within NATO that respect international law and condemn the threat or use of force. A group to which the vast majority of the Allies belong, unfortunately with one exception,” he added.

Regarding the war in Ukraine, he stressed that in order to end it, there must be a lasting and lasting solution, which can be “only a diplomatic solution”, a product of dialogue and will respect the basic principles of International Law and of course it can accepted by the Ukrainian side “.

“Unfortunately, however, it seems that we are still far from such a development,” he notes. “We must be prepared even for a lasting conflict, with whatever consequences it will have both in Ukraine itself and in Europe in general.”

The Foreign Minister also referred to the possibility of becoming a regional energy hub, and to the systematic work being done in this direction, “through a network of strategic infrastructures that have either been built or are being built, often in cooperation with other countries in the region, in always based on the principles of International Law “.

“These are projects that decisively upgrade the geopolitical footprint and the role of Greece, especially in the context of the urgent need for energy independence of Europe from Russia”, he notes and adds that this was recognized by Mr. Blinken.

Finally, referring to the Cyprus issue, he reminded that the Prime Minister referred in the context of his solution, in his speech to the Congress, a report, which was received with applause.

“The so-called solution of the two states, which is outside the framework of the relevant decisions of the Security Council, is not only rejected by us Greeks. It is categorically rejected by the entire international community.”

He stressed that the representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently reiterated clearly that “the attitude of her country has not changed, despite the various, unsupported, as it seemed rumors”.

He points out that Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot community are moving in the opposite direction, while there are indications that work has resumed in Varosia.

“This development further distances the prospect of a just and sustainable solution and is certainly a clear violation of Security Council resolutions 550 and 789,” he concluded.

Source: AMPE