The development of a sincere dialog with Türkiye as the only viable means to build relations of confidence “is a national strategic choice,” Foreign Affairs Minister George Gerapetritis said in an interview to ‘Efimerida ton Syntakton’ (EfSyn) published Saturday.
“Dialog promotes understanding. Therefore, it does not freeze. The better that structured dialog unfolds, the stabler the base will be on which we will build our relations,” Gerapetritis said.
The Greek FM reiterated that “Greece does not discuss issues of sovereignty or any other issues but the single difference [we have] that can be brought before an international jurisdiction, that is, the delimitation of the continental shelf and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), as international law demands.”
Inertia and lack of movement, he added, “are not a choice, and we ought to continue to work with the aim of maintaining the status quo of avoiding tension in our relations with Türkiye.”
Greece’s obligation is to promote peace, an object of the role of diplomacy, by respecting international law and without compromising national interests, the FM added. He noted that 64 cycles of exploratory talks with the neighboring country did not even result in convergence on the issue of delimiting the continental shelf and EEZ, nor did they avert mass violations of Greek air space, with the threat of a possible escalation incident.
“What has changed in the last 18 months is that dialog is carried out in a structured way, and there is a related briefing at every phase of developments,” Gerapetritis underlined.
