The Foreign Affairs Department of SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance issued an announcement regarding the information on the EEZ demarcation agreement between Turkey and Syria.

In the announcement it is emphasized that the government “must demand European sanctions in case there are steps in this direction”.

The SYRIZA-PS announcement in detail:

“The information about the imminent EEZ delimitation agreement between Turkey and the transitional government of Syria with the possible participation of the pseudo-state, constitutes a new very serious attempt to violate the Law of the Sea, the European acquis and the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus.

The government, instead of monitoring the developments by limiting itself to abstract statements, must, in cooperation with our partners, claim European sanctions in case there are steps in this direction.

Mr. Mitsotakis, must, even belatedly, take advantage of the Conclusions of the European Council of June 2019, secured by the SYRIZA government and the Republic of Cyprus, with which the EU calls for the adoption of “appropriate measures” against Turkey, in the event that it undertakes illegal actions in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, especially regarding the respect of the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus. We remind you that the consequence of this diplomatic success of Greece and Cyprus was the imposition of sanctions on natural persons and companies, due to the illegal Turkish investigations in the Cypriot EEZ. Unfortunately, the Mitsotakis government refused to activate this framework of sanctions for the illegal Turkish-Libyan Memorandum, since as the then Foreign Minister said “it was not a strategic choice”. He moved in the same way in relation to the crisis of Oruc Reis.

At the same time, Greece, in cooperation with its partners, should support the convening of an EU-Eastern Mediterranean Conference, with the participation of Turkey, if international law in the Eastern Mediterranean is respected.

Once again, the government proves that it is unable to present a strategy for the Eastern Mediterranean with a beginning, middle and end and is merely content with communication fireworks to satisfy its communication and micro-political ambitions.”