ATHENS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th November, 2019) Defense Ministers of Greece, Cyprus and Egypt, Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos, Savvas Angelides and Mohamed Ahmed Zaki, condemned Turkey's illegal actions in the Cypriot exclusive economic zone (EEZ), its provocative behavior in the Aegean Sea and military operation in northern Syria, media reported.
The ministers made a joint statement after a trilateral meeting in Athens, according to the AMNA news agency.
"We condemned Turkey's illegal actions in Cyprus' maritime zones that comprise a blatant violation of international law and the Law of the Sea Convention, as well as Turkey's aggressive stance, with violations of the Greek air space and Greece's territorial waters, which contravenes international law and the principles of good neighborhood," Panagiotopoulos said, adding that the Turkish military operation in northern Syria "will lead to a new humanitarian crisis and increase even more migration flows from Turkey to Greece, as well as affect negatively our efforts to fight terrorism."
Several gas fields have been discovered in the eastern Mediterranean, including in the EEZ. Their development plans led to tensions in the region. Ankara believes that Turkish Cypriots have the right to these natural resources and sent drilling rigs and Turkish Navy ships to the region.
Greek Defense Minister also announced that the next trilateral meeting will be held in Cyprus next year. His Cypriot counterpart thanked Greece and Egypt for their firm support. Egyptian Minister thanked the political leaders of the three countries for their efforts to strengthen cooperation in all areas, the media outlet reported.
The officials also expressed their determination to further strengthen and expand cooperation in the defense and military-technical fields.
On Wednesday, the three ministers will travel to Crete to take part in the final stage of the multinational Medusa exercise.
