Akar’s claim of joint sea exploitation dismissed

Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos has denied the issue of “co-exploitation of the Aegean” was raised in talks with his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Brussels on Wednesday.

Athens attributed the claim by Ankara to communication maneuvers by Akar, who, according to sources, is well aware that the content of the talks was mainly about the need to respect the moratorium, especially in the summer, when both countries expect tourism.

Akar said on Wednesday, “We are holding our talks sincerely, openly, honestly and transparently,” adding: “This is important in terms of the prosperity of the people of the two countries and the sharing of the beauties and riches of the Aegean. There are tourism, fishing and many other riches. We are in favor of using these together, we said this.”

“We have received a positive response from our interlocutor in this sense,” he claimed.