He spoke about his trip to Greece, which will start today from Thrace Mevlüt Tsavousoglou.
In an interview with Vima, the Turkish Foreign Minister stated that is coming to our country to prepare the ground for a meeting between Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the NATO Summit in June.
“I will meet with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dendia, and I will also be received by the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. “My meetings will help prepare the ground for a meeting between our leaders at the NATO Summit.”
At the same time, the head of Turkish diplomacy does not rule out recourse to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, but as he argues “first and foremost we must conduct bilateral negotiations”, emphasizing that “Good neighborly relations require three steps: an honest and sustained dialogue, a commitment to refrain from populist rhetoric and provocative actions, a political will to address and resolve all outstanding issues.
“We are working on a list of tangible projects and a roadmap to strengthen connectivity, economic and trade cooperation.”
“The Greek position in relation to Kastelorizo is simply absurd”
Tsavousoglou, however, appears uncompromising from the established Turkish positions, characterizing the Greek position regarding the Kastelorizo EEZ as “simply absurd”. He argues that “geographical conditions in both the Aegean and the Mediterranean suggest that the demarcation of the continental shelf, as we hope to achieve, must first be discussed in bilateral negotiations and on the basis of the principle of fairness.”
“From the beginning the Greek position in relation to Kastelorizo is simply absurd. The geographical conditions in both the Aegean and the Mediterranean suggest that the delimitation of the continental shelf, as we hope to achieve, must first be discussed in bilateral negotiations and on the basis of the principle of fairness. “Our attitude and insistence on these principles remains unchanged,” he said.
“Wrong calculation that Turkey will be limited to the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean coasts”
Regarding the possibility of extending Greek territorial waters to 12 nautical miles, the Turkish Foreign Minister states that “Ankara does not categorically reject them where circumstances allow.” He cited the Black Sea and the Ionian Sea as examples, but in the case of the Aegean, the Turkish minister said “freedom of navigation would be seriously affected in the first place” and “we cannot allow such an expansion.”
“It is a miscalculation on the part of Greece to believe that Turkey will be limited to the shores of the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean” declares.
Regarding the Turkish-Libyan memorandum, he insists that “it was signed by two sovereign states based on international law”.
Mr. Tsavousoglou calls on Greece to stop turning Greek-Turkish problems into Euro-Turkish ones. “Only Turkey and Greece can resolve their outstanding issues, not the EU.”
Cypriot Chapter
Regarding the Cyprus issue, Tsavousoglou calls for consideration of the two-state solution proposal recently tabled in Geneva with an open mind, once again accusing the Greek Cypriot side of refusing to “share power and the common good with the Turkish Cypriots”.
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
