In statements made in the Greek Parliament on Monday, Greece’s Foreign Affairs Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis denied discussing issues of Greece’s national sovereignty with Turkey during his meeting with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Athens on November 8th.
He also expressed the view that, because Greece at this point is at the peak of its diplomatic power, it is a good opportunity to raise questions pertaining to challenging issues. The Greek government will ensure the Greek-Turkish dialog continues in order to prevent tension and crises in the region.
Gerapetritis was responding to a question by Plefsi Eleftherias Deputy Alexandros Kazamias, who cautioned the government on the danger of getting carried away and discussing everything “in a package solution.”
Greece: Talks with Turkey only on the continental shelf and the EEZ
The Minister confirmed Kazamias’ observation that “there is truly a deviation on the issue related to the delimitation of the continental shelf, and it is attributed to one reason alone: that Greece believes that the only issue which can be raised before an international court and be discussed is the delimitation of the continental shelf and the EEZ (exclusive economic zone), while Turkey’s stance is that interlinked issues related to sovereignty should also be discussed.”
He added, “We deny explicitly and categorically that the Greek-Turkish dialog included or will include any other discussion beyond the delimitation of the continental shelf and EEZ.”
Furthermore, he continued, “The reason we believe at this point that there is truly a good opportunity for the Greek state to enter discussion on difficult issues that have not been resolved in 50 years, and relate to the delimitation of the continental shelf and the EEZ, is exactly because Greece is at the height of its diplomatic powers.”
Gerapetritis also dismissed allegations of secret diplomacy, joint exploitation in the Aegean, and concessions to Turkey, underlining that:
“There has been no joint exploitation, no concession whatsoever. In terms of secret diplomacy, I do not believe that there has been in Greece, after the restoration of democracy, a case of the foreign minister informing Parliament continuously with every detail about the relations developing with Turkey, as is happening in the current case.”
The Minister confirmed that he supports continuing talks with Turkey despite disagreement on delimitation, providing examples of diplomatic achievements based on the talks. These include the commencement of talks on the Cyprus issue, the drop in migration flows, the reduction of Greek airspace violations by Turkey, and the rise in Turkish visitors to the Greek islands (100,000), based on a short-term visa program.
“We do not believe that just because we disagree on the major issue, we should not discuss the rest and not try to find the framework that will allow us to discuss our major issue,” Gerapetritis concluded.
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