speaking on the bilateral ties between the two neighbors that have become tense due to conflicts concerning drilling rights and maritime borders in the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu stated on Sunday that Greece must halt its provocations for relations to grow and to avoid further escalation.
Addressing reporters during the last day of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, Cavusoglu stated that there was a gentleman's agreement not to hold any exercises in the Aegean during the tourism season in the summer.
According to Daily Sabah, he said: "Greece is now declaring NAVTEX. We had an agreement not to hold NAVTEX and exercises on national days as well. Greece broke this as well. They should give up these provocations."
When asked about the state of relations between Turkey and Greece, Cavusoglu said that a dialogue between the two countries was opened after tensions rose in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean. Explaining that the consultations between the countries have resumed and that confidence-building talks are being held, Cavusoglu continued: "Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias came. I went there. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Greek Prime Minister Kiriakos Mitsotakis met in Brussels. The meeting went well. Have all the problems been resolved? No."
"These talks show our determination to solve our problems through dialogue. This determination and sincerity will continue. Greece needs to give up provocations. We go to the press conferences and everything is fine, but then my friend Dendias says many things behind our back. There is no need for this. We ignore it," he added.
Calling on Greece to stick to international agreements, Cavusoglu said: "We need to give up provocative steps and provocation. I know that they are trying to satisfy their own people because there is a lot of pressure on them. We want to turn the dialogue we started into concrete steps. We are sincere and determined."
Greece did not join the forum because of the participation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Cavusoglu noted. Former European commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos and Theodora Bakoyannis – both former Greek foreign ministers – were originally scheduled to attend but neither participated in the forum.
Cavusoglu also said that ahead of the forum, the Greek Cypriot administration called countries, telling them not to participate.
HJ/PR
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