Turkish Navtex demonstrates ‘complete contempt for international law,’ says Greek Foreign Ministry

The Greek Foreign Ministry late Tuesday reacted to an advisory known as a Navtex issued by Turkey’s navy for seismic surveys in an area of sea between Cyprus and Crete, saying that it underscored Ankara’s “persistence in violating international legality and its complete contempt for international law.”

“Today’s announcement of Turkish surveys in a section of the Greek continental shelf, through a new illegal Navtex, constitutes an escalation of the tension in our region,” the ministry statement said.

“It highlights Turkey’s persistence in violating international legality and its complete contempt for international law, the international law of the sea, the rules governing good neighborly relations and the urgings of the European Union,” it said.

The ministry said that the Greek embassy in Ankara had already lodged a demarche to the Turkish Foreign Ministry and that the country’s missions had already raised the issue at the EU, NATO and the UN, as well as in the capitals of the permanent members of the UN Security Council.

“We call on Turkey to immediately cease its illegal activities, which violate our sovereign rights and undermine peace and security in the region,” said the ministry.

“The only path to stability in the region is respect for international legality.”