Turkey: ‘Maximalist and uncompromising attitude’ of Greece and Cyprus threatens regional peace

Turkey has reacted to Greece’s condemnation Tuesday of the country’s newly declared illegal drilling within the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf of the Republic of Cyprus.

“Greece, with today’s statement, once again exhibits her unrealistic perceptions and rights-refusing attitudes regarding the problems in our region,” Hami Aksoy, spokesman for Turkey’s foreign ministry, told journalists late Tuesday.

“The Greek/Greek Cypriot side deliberately ignores the fact that Turkey has legitimate and sovereign rights in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea and Turkish Cypriots have equal rights, as the co-owner of the Island, on the resources around the island,” Aksoy said.

He said that the “maximalist and uncompromising attitude” of Greece and Cyprus was an “actual threat to peace and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean.”