Dendias: No talks with Turkey until it withdraws vessel

Greece will not engage in exploratory talks with Turkey as long as Turkish survey vessel Oruc Reis remains in its continental shelf waters, Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said Tuesday.

“After the new illegal Navtex yesterday for surveys at a distance only 6.5 nautical miles from the [Greek] coast, the Turkish leadership has shown it is not a credible interlocutor,” Dendias said during a meeting with Canada’s visiting Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne in Athens Tuesday.

Coming a few days after Turkey pledged to propose a date for exploratory talks, the escalation is “a direct threat to peace and security in the region,” Dendias said.

“Turkey has confirmed [its status] as the main undermining factor of peace and stability in the region,” Dendias said.

“Its calls for dialogue are only a pretext. The international community must judge [Ankara] on the basis of actions, not words. We must all face reality before it is too late,” he said.