Indicative of Ankara’s irritation is that pro-government media went so far as to characterize the seismic surveys as a challenge to Greece
By Penelope Galliou
The change in the balance in the Aegean with the continued strengthening of Greece’s deterrent power and the strengthening of its international alliances, as well as the activation of our country in the field of research for the investigation of the existence of hydrocarbon deposits, they intensify the irritation of Turkey which insists on the inflammatory rhetoric and bigotry of other times.
Past glories…
His “line of defense”. Tayyip Erdogan against his internal impasses, there remain the big and “loud” words but also the slanders, which are mainly centered on Athens. In this environment, the Turkish president, on the occasion of the 84th anniversary of the death of Kemal Atatürk, proceeded with another pharaonic manifesto by directing exactly the same fiesta as the anniversary of the 99th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey and speaking again for the past greatness… “Until we realize the centuries-old dreams of our people, we will not stop, we will not succumb to the attacks and we will resolutely continue our struggle” said Tayyip Erdogan.
Bigotry and revisionism which Greece has made clear and continues to declare that it is not accepted. This was also the message of the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis in the framework of the work of the Special Group on the Mediterranean and the Middle East of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. “Borders should remain inviolable. No bigotry or historical revisionism can be accepted. It is not a period of rebirth of old and time-dead empires. It is a period when respect for International Law should prevail in international relations,” stressed Mr. Varvitsiotis. He also raised before the members of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly the issue of Turkish provocation, pointing out that the questioning of our national sovereignty, the overflights, the violations of the sea and air borders, the illegal seismic surveys, the conclusion of invalid agreements with third states such as Turkish-Libyan memorandum and an aggressive rhetoric that ends almost every day in the phrase “we will come suddenly one night” do not constitute a framework for constructive cooperation within a common organization that wants to guarantee security” and of course he repeated Greece’s adherence to International Law and Dllikaio of the Sea as the only compass of the Greek positions.
A resounding “no” to Ankara’s aggressive rhetoric and overflights was also expressed by the Minister of Defense at the same meeting Nikos Panagiotopoulos, stressing that “a basic condition is to eliminate aggressive rhetoric, hostile language towards a friend and ally in NATO and some direct, direct violations of our territorial sovereignty” while making reference to the overflights of Turkish aircraft over Greek territory, calling them “a violation of a serious type” and recommended “it would be good if these did not exist in order to see if we can reach a level of understanding”. The Minister of Defense even remarked that “dialogue under threats, in fact threats that are very often launched by Turkish officials directly against the country’s territorial sovereignty, will not lead to a better point in bilateral relations”.
The vice president of the Turkish government, Fuat Oktai however, he insisted on slandering Greece and Cyprus and at the same time pointing his arrows at the USA and the EU for their support for the two countries. “We will never allow the USA and the EU to disturb the balance in the region with their unilateral stance on the Cyprus issue and for Greece to spoil the climate of peace” he commented, reversing the reality once again.
Seismic surveys are “shaking” Ankara
However, in addition to the changing balance in the Aegean, the Turkish concern is intensified by the seismic surveys for the exploitation of any wealth-producing resources located in the Ionian Sea and south-west of Crete, with a series of Turkish officials as well as pro-government Turkish media talking about a provocation by Greece against of Turkey. A concern to which Greece responds by underlining that it is implementing a very well prepared plan, fully in line with International Law and fully within our sovereign rights. “The country respects International Law. It will make practical use of its sovereign rights. It is not Greece that does actions, that makes moves, which are far from international legality, in any case. Our country has never politicized and behaved outside the framework of International Law and the Law of the Sea, and it never will,” the government representative emphasized, adding that “and, of course, it will never retreat from any of its rights, as it follows from International Law and from the Law of the Sea. Everything we do is well thought out, well prepared and, of course, implemented in a way that satisfies all the parameters, whether they have to do with our geostrategic interests, whether they have to do with our economic interests, whether they have to do with do with the protection of the environment” he clarified Mr. Economou.
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