Athens reverses the terms, puts Turkey under the “microscope” of Europe
The highly provocative statements of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoλουlu could be described as a “gift”, as they reinforced the arguments of the Greek side and showed the European partners that Ankara goes beyond the limits of its aggressive rhetoric.
Specifically, Tsavousoglou today raised the issue of their sovereignty Greek islandsarguing that Greece has violated the regime their.
“Greece has violated the status of the islands, so Greece must disarm these islands. “Otherwise, the debate on sovereignty will begin,” the Turkish minister said in an interview with Anadolu Agency.
A few days ago, Mevlüt Çavuşoλουlu also called for the demilitarization of the islands, saying: “We are extremely serious, we do not bluff. The islands were given conditionally. “If Greece, which constantly invokes international law, does not comply, we will go further.”
The Turkish minister presented maps today “graying» Greek Islands.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis did not hesitate to use these maps that Ankara is waving, they present them to the European partners and especially to the German Chancellor. Olaf Solts to point out that it is not possible to keep equal distances from Berlin to Greece and Turkey.
“I also clarified to the chancellor with whom I had a friendly conversation, that does not mean a policy of equal distances in these matters, from one Member State of the Union to another Member State of the Union which is directly threatened by another State which also has the status of a candidate Member State. The chancellor is fully aware of the extent of the problem. The definition of “blue homeland” is the official doctrine of Turkish foreign policy and has no difficulty in projecting in violation of our sovereignty and sovereign rights. “It is the best proof against even the most skeptical when we say that Turkey is the one that threatens us,” the prime minister said during a press conference on the results of the summit.
Greek initiatives have paid off, as the issue of Turkish provocation will be raised at the EU Summit in Junewith the request from Athens to be the clear condemnation of Ankara.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed: “Such challenges, such leontarianism can not be tolerated, neither by Greece nor by the European Union. And I asked that, if Turkey persists in this irrational and dead-end strategy, it be discussed again at the regular European Council in June and that there be a reference to the conclusions with a true and clear condemnation of this new complete unnecessary and unnecessary provocation. The last thing our sensitive area needs in times of testing is another source of tension.
“Our country responds to the challenges of its neighbor with its composure but also with the confidence of the law.”
On the side of Greece, directly condemning the Turkish provocation, stands the French President Emanuel Macron, who with his statement conveyed the spirit of support from all European partners.
“No one can jeopardize the sovereignty of an EU member state,” the French president said after leaving the summit in Brussels. “The Greek Prime Minister vigorously expressed Greece’s concerns – its legitimate concerns – and condemned the statements made by some Turkish officials, questioning Greece’s sovereignty over many of its islands.
“I want to express the support of all Europeans, especially France. No one can jeopardize the sovereignty of any Member State today. “These statements must be condemned as soon as possible, and that is exactly what I am doing here in front of you.”
Mitsotakis’s answer to Erdogan
Kyriakos Mitsotakis did not hesitate, not only to internationalize the issue of the upgraded Turkish provocations, but also to speak openly about the causes behind Ankara’s anger.
“Turkey misses another opportunity to improve its relations with Greece. Turkey may be annoyed by my visit to the United States, by the speech I gave to Congress this is its own issue. “Greece has allies, belongs to the European family, has a strategic relationship with the United States and obviously has every right and obligation to take advantage of its alliances,” said the prime minister.
The calmness and prudence with which the Greek government deals with the aggressive rhetoric of Tayyip Erdogan himself was demonstrated by the response given by Kyriakos Mitsotakis to the derogatory and provocative statements of the Turkish president about him.
“I will only say that Greece rejects even the most absurd arguments with composure and confidence and pressing on our principles, our values and our necessary respect for international law. This is what we did after the letter he sent to the UN, in which we coldly deconstructed the “arguments” of Turkey, without any emotional outbursts. This is what we will continue to do. We will never be the ones to resort to sharpening, insults, staff characterizations. It’s not what suits me, it does not suit the country, it does not suit the Foreign Ministry.
I have the confidence that comes from believing that we have international law on our side. It stems from the strong allies we have on our side and stems from our strong and increasingly reinforced deterrent capacity to defend our sovereignty and our sovereign rights. By no means do I want to convey that I recommend for the mother to be inactive. I am not going to follow him in this path that he has chosen “.
“Every threat to our sovereignty will be punished very severely”
A little while later, after the People’s Party Summit, the Prime Minister expressed his satisfaction for the support from the EU, while sending a new emphatic message to Ankara: “Any threat to our sovereignty will be punished very severely.”
The Prime Minister recalled the spring of 2020 with the instrumentalization by Turkey of the refugee flows and the suffocating pressures in Evros to point out:
«We defended the European borders. At that time the leadership of Europe, the President of the Council, the late President of Parliament David Sassoli and the President of the Commission, stood by us to send a message: that Europe’s borders must be protected and that desperate people must not can work with such audacity.
“Since then we have had good times but now we are again facing a period of tension. But we will do what we have always done, we will defend our positions with logical arguments, we will explain our positions to our allies. And I would like to thank you for the support we have always received in the European Council. We will probably discuss this issue again in June, if Turkish aggression continues.
»Thank you for the support we have received from the European Parliament, Roberta. It’s very important to us, because what we can not tolerate is a new version of historical revisionism, fantasies about lost empires, and a projection of power that is inconsistent with a rule-based international order. Therefore, I think our positions are to have many allies in Europe, in the United States.
“The last thing we need today, Antonio, is another source of instability on NATO’s southeast wing. I’m sure some in Russia would be very happy if that happened. We will ensure, however, that we do not allow this. We will also send one a clear message that we are not going to compromise when it comes to our sovereignty and sovereign rights.
That is why, even before the Ukrainian crisis, we spent more resources – like Croatia – to strengthen our armed forces, to realize that we have a credible deterrent capability. We are a force for peace. “We are a defense force, but we want to send a clear message that any threat to our sovereignty will be severely punished.”