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Ankara continues to elicit a strong backlash from the EU’s month-long “ultimatum” to demonstrate compliance under threat of sanctions. The Deputy Prime Minister of the Turkish Government today asked the EU for its dishonest attitude.
In a statement, Fuat Oktay accused the EU of dishonesty, saying that on the one hand he was calling for dialogue with Ankara and on the other hand he was proceeding with “other plans”, while the French president, who was fired yesterday, was also in your point of view. fierce attack on Turkey:
“We know very well the language of diplomacy and peace. However, when it comes to protecting the rights and interests of Turkey, we do not hesitate to do the right thing.” France and Greece know this better than anyone, “Erdogan said.
#BREAK ‘If Athens’ attempt to expand its territorial waters is not a cause of war, then what is?’ asks the Turkish vice president
– ANADOLU AGENCY (ENG) (@anadoluagency) August 29, 2020
Also commenting on the recent decision by Athens to extend its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles in the Ionian Sea and a possible similar move in the Aegean, Oktay said: “Do you expect us to accept this?” If this is not a cause of war, then is it? So what is it?”
Oktay’s intervention is moving in the same direction, albeit with a sharper tone, with the announcement yesterday by the Turkish Foreign Ministry, which reprimanded the EU for arguing that it is not within its competence to call for an end to activities. Turks in the eastern Mediterranean.
The Turkish chancellor even reiterated the well-known claims that islands like Kastelorizo have no continental shelf.
The statement said that “the cause of the tension” is Greece and the “Greek Cypriot administration”, due to their maximalist positions, while at the same time ascribing responsibilities to the EU, indicating that the tension in the Eastern Mediterranean is caused by “unconditional support of the EU in Athens and Nicosia “. , who ignore the rights of Ankara and the Turkish Cypriots. “
The announcement in detail:
“The cause of the tension in the eastern Mediterranean is Greece and the ‘Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus’ with their maximalist actions and their demands that go against international law. The unconditional support of the EU, under the pretext of solidarity from the Union, to this duo, which ignores the legal rights and interests of our country and the Turkish Cypriots in the eastern Mediterranean, intensifies the tension even more.
The EU has no right to criticize our country’s oil activities within its own continental shelf, nor to demand that we stop them. Because, as the Court of Justice of the European Union has confirmed, the EU has no jurisdiction in this matter. This requirement is contrary to both the EU acquis and international law.
We call on the EU and the Member States not to support the maximalist demands of Greece, which go against international law, under the pretext of the solidarity of the Union.
Greece is not an archipelago state. It is contrary to international law and jurisprudence for the Greek islands, and especially Kastelorizo, to have a continental shelf.
The recourse of the EU to sanctions, when Turkey always emphasizes the importance of dialogue and diplomacy, on the one hand does not help to solve the existing problems, on the other hand it further reinforces the determination of our country (….)
If it is an honest solution, Greece and the “Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus” must realize that this situation is not sustainable and understand that they must not act on the miscalculations of those behind them. “Therefore, if the EU wants a solution in the Eastern Mediterranean, it must act impartially and be an honest mediator.”
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