Permission was never requested for the issue of the research conducted by the Italian ship for the Greek-Cyprus electrical interconnection near Kassos and there was no risk of an incident with Turkiye, Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis emphasised in an interview with SKAI TV on Thursday.
As he noted, there was a part of the research that was conducted outside the Greek territorial waters, in waters that fall into Greece’s EEZ based on the Greek-Egyptian agreement and where there is a claim by Turkiye from the illegal and non-existent Turkish-Libyan memorandum.
“Otherwise we could have seen clashes. We could have seen a huge escalation that would have even reached a hot incident,” he said and underlined that in this particular case, the ship completed its search and even scanned the area for more time than originally planned.
“There was no risk of an incident with Turkiye. From the first moment, the communication channels, which exist at all levels, worked, so that the tension could be decompressed, the Turkish ships could leave and the investigation could be completed”, he said adding that “there was no direct, indirect recognition of a Turkish claim. No permission was obtained from Turkiye to carry out this research, which in any case based on International Law is not even required. So there was no de facto recognition.We will continue efforts so that we have a state of calm and security, without being naive in our approach. We will continue to have a good cooperation in migration, good cooperation in entrepreneurship, so that actions such as the one currently taking place with the on-site visa on ten islands for Turkish visitors are developed, which have not only revitalised the local economies, but have give a huge boost” noted the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Gerapetritis also underlined that “long-term peace, long-term sustainable peace cannot exist with Turkiye unless the major underlying issue is resolved. The one issue that can be brought before international jurisdiction, which is the delimitation of the EEZ and continental shelf”.
As he pointed out, “even the issue that arose in Kassos is due to the fact that there is no demarcation. And there is an overlap between a legal and existing agreement, such as the Greco-Egyptian, and between an invalid and non-existent one, which is the Turkish. But there are claims. So we understand that this should be resolved.”
Asked about the Cyprus issue, he pointed out that until a year ago, the Cyprus issue was in a state of inactivity in the international arena. “The UN did not have it in the top priorities, it had unfortunately fallen into a state of complete immobility,” he said and added: “In the last year, a great initiative has been taken on behalf of the UN, through the appointment of the personal envoy, so that this moment to consider that, amidst global crises, the Cyprus issue is a major priority of the organisation. We expect more mobility in the near future. I personally am in constant communication with the highest officials of the United Nations Organization, in agreement with the Cypriot government, with whom we are in good cooperation, so that in the context of the Security Council’s decisions on the Bizonal Bicommunal Federation, we can have a restart of dialogue that would also lead to the reunification of the island”, he noted.
Referring to the situation in the Middle East, Gerapetritis said that “today I think we are in the most difficult post-war phase in the wider region”. As he pointed out, there is a very serious escalation and an invitation from the UN for restraint. As far as the consequences for Greece are concerned, “this escalation will create major problems for peace in the region and internationally. It will also create issues regarding the humanitarian situation in the region.We expect that there will be an increase in migration flows. And of course, there are issues that have to do with the supply chain”, he emphasized and added that the country has taken a position of principle in the Middle East issues”.
Asked about North Macedonia, he reminded that it has currently joined NATO and is in the pre-accession process to the EU, based on the constitutional name resulting from the Prespa Agreement.
“Anyone who does not respect the European acquis cannot be a member of the European family,” he noted.
