Berlin expresses solidarity with Greece, Cyprus over Turkey
A spokeswoman for the German Foreign Ministry on Wednesday expressed Berlin's solidarity with Greece and Cyprus over violations in the Eastern Mediterranean and called on Turkey and Libya to respect the sovereign rights of other European Union member states and to respect international law when seeking to delineate marine zones.
The comment came as EU leaders prepare to meet for talks expected to touch on an accord signed between Turkey and Libya seeking to demarcate maritime zones which ignores the presence of Crete and which Greece has condemned to the United Nations.
In her comment, Maria Adebar said that Berlin's position is clear: the delineation of marine zones must be done on the basis of international law and with the participation of all involved parties.
Questioned about the agenda of Thursday's summit, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters that it would be set by the European Council President and that he was not in a position to know whether Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis would broach the issue at the council but did not rule out the possibility of Turkey being discussed at a working lunch.
