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Friday, September 04, 2020
There is no solution in sight to the maritime dispute between Greece and Turkey. Despite NATO’s initiative, countries accuse each other of lies and threats. A country that also claims maritime zones is in the middle.
Despite NATO’s attempts to mediate, the dispute between Ankara and Athens over gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean remains heated. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called on Turkey to refrain from “threats” against her country “so that contacts can begin.” He also announced that Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias would report to the United Nations on Turkey’s “illegal activities” in the Mediterranean during the day.
Ankara, in turn, accused the Greek side of wanting to avoid talks and “lying” with a view to resolving the maritime dispute. “Greece has shown once again that it is not ready for dialogue,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in Ankara.
NATO announced Thursday that Turkey and Greece were ready to start “technical talks.” These should create “mechanisms to avoid military conflict,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. This should reduce the “risk of incidents and accidents in the Eastern Mediterranean”. The Turkish government emphasized that it supported Stoltenberg’s initiative. Turkey hopes that Greece will do the same, said the Foreign Ministry in Ankara.
Athens denies NATO announcement
Athens, however, denied the NATO announcement a little later. Greece wants to maintain its intention to work on the establishment of de-escalation mechanisms, the Greek Foreign Ministry said. A reduction in escalation will only occur if there is an “immediate withdrawal of all Turkish ships from the Greek continental shelf”.
Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades spoke of a “very volatile and worrying situation”. He denounced Turkey’s “aggressiveness” and urged talks to resolve the dispute. Otherwise, Ankara “would endanger the stability and security of the entire region,” he said.
In recent days, the Turkish president had also commented on the situation. Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the governments of Greece and France as “greedy and incompetent.” France had recently sided with Greece in the dispute, and the two also held joint military exercises in the Mediterranean. “When the time comes to fight, we will not hesitate to make sacrifices,” Erdogan said.
The President of the Council of the EU speaks
Regarding the possibility of EU sanctions against Turkey, Anastasiades said that Cyprus is not in favor of such punitive measures. “Sanctions are not our goal. Our goal is to find a solution through dialogue.” He asked Ankara to take the dispute to the International Court of Justice in The Hague or to accept international arbitration. The President of the EU Council, Charles Michel, also intervened. He suggested organizing a “multilateral conference” with the participation of Ankara.
Since the discovery of rich gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean, there has been a heated debate about their exploitation. In addition to Greece and Turkey, Cyprus also claims the affected maritime areas. Ankara and Athens corroborate their claim by sending warships. Relations between the two NATO members are therefore extremely tense.
