Athens unwilling to engage in dialogue, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman says
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy on Tuesday reacted to comments by Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias who earlier in the day accused Turkey of escalating its illegal actions in the Eastern Mediterranean, describing them as signs of Athens’ unwillingness to engage in dialogue with Ankara over bilateral disputes.
“The accusations and the threatening tone of the Greek Foreign Minister towards Turkey in his statements today are yet further indications of the unwillingness of the Greek side towards the settlement of bilateral issues through dialogue and diplomacy,” Aksoy said in a statement.
“Turkey’s constructive approach and benevolent steps on the Eastern Mediterranean issue since August have unfortunately not been reciprocated. Moreover, Greece’s characterization of Turkey’s resolute activities to protect her own rights and those of the Turkish Cypriots in the face of Greek maximalist demands, as ‘provocative’, or even ‘illegal’ are merely pretexts to avoid dialogue,” Aksoy said.
“Turkey has always maintained her calls for dialogue and will continue to do so. Greece should by now comprehend that a language of threats and trying to secure EU backing will not yield any results. Greece should refrain from putting forward preconditions and come to the negotiation table at once,” he said.
