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While the announcement of the resumption of exploratory contacts even before the EU Summit is imminent, in a revealing article (in Kathimerini), Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Tsavousoglou essentially closes the door to dialogue with Greece. while trying to impose conditions. and conditions that cannot be accepted while integrating the Greek-Turkish dialogue in the context of its regional hegemonic aspirations.
Although the international community supports and Greece accepts the start of a dialogue on the delimitation of maritime zones, Mr. Tsavousoglou is not only trying to broaden the agenda but in a really worrying fact, he reveals the Turkish intentions and aspirations stating that his The objective is to avoid their “exclusion” from the “wealth of the neighborhood.”
Furthermore, attempts to exclude a country like Turkey with the largest coastline in the region, a growing population, productive capacity, and increasing energy needs from the wealth of its own neighborhood are unrealistic. “As we have stressed many times, this is simply not going to happen,” said Turkey’s foreign minister in an article.
Expressing a neo-imperialist conception that finds increasingly fertile ground in the Ankara Presidential Palace, Mr. Tsavousoglu simply explains that Turkey, citing its growing size, population and needs, demands a part of its “wealth”. neighborhood ”, wealth that may belong to other countries or be located in areas that have not even been demarcated.
It is no coincidence that Mr. Tsavousoglou said in an interview with NTV the day before yesterday that “if there really are hydrocarbon reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean, they have to pass through Turkey in order to be sold on the international market.”
With this perception, it is obvious from the beginning that not only will there be no agreement, but even the beginning of the Greek-Turkish dialogue is questioned, since Turkey does not seek a fair demarcation of the maritime zones, but a part of the “wealth” that exists. in the region even if they belong to other countries and in this case to Greece.
However, the Turkish Chancellor presented in his article Turkey’s “main objectives” in the Eastern Mediterranean:
– “Fair and equitable delimitation of maritime borders”. (But without specifying what “fair” means and especially if “equal” means division in half).
– “Protection of rights on our continental shelf against maximalist and excessive claims of maritime borders”.
(This is a one-sided perception of what the Turkish continental shelf is and, mainly, it is completely arbitrary to identify the claims of other countries and obviously Greece as “maximalist” and “excessive”. Obviously, this claim hides a threat, although competent to judge some claims as “maximalist” they are not Turkey but ultimately the Hague Convention).
– “Protection of the equal rights of Turkish Cypriots over the island’s underwater resources through the establishment of an equitable benefit sharing mechanism.” (Turkey is trying to put Greek-Turkish issues related to the Republic of Cyprus on the agenda and, in fact, completely ignores the proposals of President N. Anastasiadis to ensure the participation of Turkish Cypriots in future gas revenues. Also Mr. Tsavous clarifies whether the “equitable distribution” to which he refers implies a 50% division, which would practically lead to the full recognition of “equal” rights between “two equal states”).
– “Creation of a genuine, inclusive, fair and equitable mechanism for energy cooperation of underwater resources, with the participation of all parties, including the Turkish Cypriots (the proposals on the subject are still on the table) in the Eastern Mediterranean”. (It is obvious that Turkey seeks to cloud the waters and propose this “egalitarian” mechanism for underwater resources, which even requires the participation of Turkish Cypriots and will obviously aim at Turkey’s participation in the exploitation of the natural resources of the Eastern Mediterranean., belonging to … other countries.
Mr Tsavousoglou in Turkey’s well-known refrain demanded that Greece set no conditions, something that Turkey refers to in the Greek warning that it does not accept material and outside the framework of the Law of the Sea, extortively threatening that if Athens does not do so Accepting the framework established by Turkey will then face “other preconditions”. Part of which has been presented in recent days from the demilitarization of the islands to the “gray areas” and the issue of minorities in Thrace.
Twisting, Mr. Tsavousoglou attempts to justify the mobilization of the Turkish Fleet, claiming that it was not done for “aggressive reasons, but for self-defense against interference in seismic research activities within our continental shelf, which, incidentally , was declared in accordance with from 16 years “. Mr. Tsavousoglou is probably referring to the UN’s unilateral report to the UN on the western border of the Turkish continental shelf at the 28th meridian when Turkey in 2004 rushed to challenge the EEZ delimitation agreement between Cyprus and Egypt.
In the epilogue to his article, Mr. Tsavousoglou states in a rather threatening way that “Turkey can follow Greece in any way it chooses.”
The only sure thing from this article is that Turkey has made its choice and the path it chooses is to demand acceptance of its ultimatums and “surrender” from Greece.
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