“There was no risk of a hot episode in the South-East Aegean at any stage due to the simultaneous presence of Greek and Turkish forces”, the Minister of Foreign Affairs emphasizes
“The events that took place in the South-East Aegean on Monday 22.07.2024 during the maritime investigation process for the laying of the Crete-Cyprus electric interconnection cable, gave rise to an increase in inaccuracy in the public discourse”, states the Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgos Gerapetritis in his statement to the newspaper “Parapolitical”.
As he notes, the Italian ship had planned to carry out the survey, among other things, within the Greek Exclusive Economic Zone, as it has been demarcated between Greece and Egypt.
In the same maritime area, Mr. Gerapetritis points out, “Turkey invokes rights based on the legally invalid and non-existent Turkish-Libyan memorandum. For this reason, Turkish warships sailed into the wider area.”
“There was no risk of a hot episode at any stage due to the simultaneous presence of Greek and Turkish forces,” he emphasizes.
“Communication channels established to decompress tensions between the two countries were operational and in less than 36 hours the survey vessel proceeded with its survey as scheduled. This investigation in international waters of the Greek EEZ lasted about 5 hours”.
“Neither of the two countries is abandoning their respective basic positions, nor could we reasonably expect this”, he emphasizes characteristically and adds: “Furthermore, it is expressly provided in the Declaration of Athens that the legal positions of both sides are not affected”.
“Greece has neither recognized in any way nor will it recognize the Turkish claims, and we are doing everything necessary against them, as provided by International Law”.
“In this context, however, there is value in direct communication that prevents tensions from turning into real crises, as, after all, happened on several occasions in the past, with a huge risk to peace.” And, of course, “the value of proceeding to a discussion on the full demarcation of the continental shelf and exclusive economic zone is highlighted.”
“With the international law of the sea as our compass, our goal is long and sustainable peace. Today, Greece enjoys major power at all levels”, concludes the minister in his statement.
Source: Skai
I have worked in the news industry for over 10 years. I have been an author at News Bulletin 247 for the past 2 years. I mostly cover politics news. I am a highly experienced and respected journalist. I have won numerous awards for my work.
