Greek minister highlights Turkish behavior at EU meeting
At an informal meeting with his European Union counterparts in Malta on Thursday, Defense Minister Panos Kammenos brought to their attention Turkey’s repeated questioning of Greece’s territorial rights and incursions into the country’s air space and waters.
On Wednesday, Turkish European Union Affairs Minister Omer Celik claimed the Greek island of Agathonisi “belongs to Turkey,” prompting a rebuke from Athens. Yesterday, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Huseyin Muftuoglu accused Kammenos of threatening “peace and tranquillity” in the Aegean and “stalling efforts towards strengthening good-neighborly and friendly relations.”
“Turkey has always acted in accordance with and respected international law,” added the Turkish official. “On the other hand, we have time and again stated that there are a number of interrelated issues in the Aegean Sea between Turkey and Greece.”
Meanwhile, the Turkish seismic research vessel Barbaros continues to sail in the waters off Cyprus.
