Greece seeks EU protection against Turkish activities, says spokesman
Greece seeks wider European support against Turkey’s activities in the Eastern Mediterranean and hopes EU leaders will condemn Ankara in the two-day summit starting Thursday, government spokesman Stelios Petsas said.
A draft statement of the summit revealed by Reuters on Wednesday addresses three issues raised by the government: Condemning Turkish provocations, explicitly stating that this agreement has no legal effect and Europe's unconditional support to Greece and Cyprus, Petsas told ANT1 television channel on Thursday.
“There is a framework for contacts between the prime minister, Greek diplomacy and other countries, inside and outside of Europe, to isolate Turkey diplomatically over its illegal actions under international law,” he added.
“These three things will provide a protection so that all other EU agencies as well as EU ministers can specify a framework for handling Turkish provocation, even with sanctions, if needed.”
Asked whether he believed Greece will be left alone if Turkey acts on its threats, he expressed the view that the country “will have all its allies by its side, if need be, and we hope it will not be needed.”
According to Reuters, the draft statement will say that “the Turkey-Libya memorandum of understanding on the delimitation of maritime jurisdictions in the Mediterranean Sea infringes upon the sovereign rights of third States [and] does not comply with the (UN) Law of the Sea.”
