MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th August, 2020) Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a statement on Wednesday that Turkey's objections to Greece's deal with Egypt on the delimitation of maritime zones shows that it continues using intimidation strategies instead of peacefully resolving existing tensions, suggesting that Ankara's claims that it is ready for dialogue are false.
Earlier in August, Greece and Egypt signed a maritime deal on an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the eastern Mediterranean. Ankara then slammed the agreement as "null and void," saying that Athens and Cairo share no sea border, and claimed that the area of the EEZ was in fact located on Turkey's continental shelf. The Greece-Egypt deal prompted Turkey to resume seismic research in the eastern Mediterranean.
"Turkey's reaction to the lawful EEZ demarcation agreement with Egypt unfortunately shows that it cannot come to terms with the European principles of the 21st century. That it remains attached to the logic of coercion and intimidation, which belongs to past times. This attitude, however, proves that its alleged readiness for dialogue is simply false," the statement said.
At the same time, Mitsotakis stressed that Turkey-Libya maritime border deal was "completely illegal," while a peaceful dialogue on the issue "becomes irrelevant in a climate of tension and provocation."
"In response to Turkey's deployment of its Fleet, we have also deployed our own, putting our Armed Forces on alert. I am confident that all Greeks have the same absolute trust in the capabilities of our Armed Forces as I do. When faced with provocation, we maintain the strength that stems from our equanimity and prudence. At the same time, though, we remain in absolute political and operational readiness," the statement noted.
In late November 2019, the UN-backed Government of National Accord signed with Turkey the memorandum of understanding on military cooperation and a new maritime border in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Greece, Cyprus, and Egypt were outraged by the move and said the pact infringed upon their sovereignty rights.
