The drilling in Cyprus’ block generates Turkey’s restiveness, says Alt.FM Katrougalos
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
“Turkey’s attitude on all fronts is generally characterised by restiveness and President Ergodan himself linked what is happening in the Aegean with the things happening in Cyprus,” stated Alternate Foreign Minister responsible for European issues George Katrougalos, speaking on Friday to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency radio “Praktoreio 104.9FM”.
“There seems to be a considerable de-escalation of the situation (after the incident at Imia) but obviously this does not justify any lack of vigilance on our part because there is still the open front of Cyprus and what will happen regarding the continued exploration. The drilling in Cyprus’ block will go ahead and this probably explains the edginess on the Turkish side,” said Katrougalos.
Referring to Greece’s stance regarding the incident near the Imia islets, where a Turkish patrol boat rammed a vessel of the Greek Coast Guard, Katrougalos underlined: “Our stance should always be a combination of determination and cool-headedness, meaning we should avoid an escalation of tension but also not accept any faits accomplis.
International law fully supports our national interests and there is no reason to proceed with opportunistic actions, as many others do in our region. It is reasonable that we should be concerned but we should not fear. The necessary actions and measures have already been taken at the highest possible level, in a telephone call between the prime ministers of the two countries on the Turkish side’s initiative.”
ANA-MPA