“Obviously there is no question of joint exploitation in any field. These are science fiction scenarios,” said the Member of Parliament for Serres and Secretary of International Relations and EU of the New Democracy, Mr. Tasos Hatzivasiliou, speaking to ERTnews Radio on the morning of Tuesday, October 21.
Mr. Hatzivasiliou pointed out that “all this discussion about alleged co-exploitation distorts reality, because the issues that are raised are issues that International Law itself requires to be discussed institutionally and not with political interpretations or arbitrary fantasies”.
Referring to the latest developments in Greek-Turkish, he underlined that “the debate in Turkey started from two starting points”. “The first,” he said, “was the clear position of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis that Turkey cannot enter the SAFE mechanism, as long as the casus belli against a European country and the theory of gray zones on the table remain in force.” “This message is being read and, it seems, is being read correctly by Ankara,” he noted.
“The second starting point was the forward-looking proposal of the Prime Minister for the five-party Conference of the Eastern Mediterranean, with the participation of Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Libya and Egypt, on five themes: maritime zones, migration, marine environment, connectivity and civil protection”.
Deputy Serron commented that “Fidan’s statements confirm the constant Turkish rhetoric, with lame and illogical arguments that we have been hearing for decades”. “Turkey today feels that it has high stakes because of the negotiation it did on behalf of Hamas at the Peace Conference, and it does not accept that a country can cut its way to European defense,” he said. “But Greece exists, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Gerapetritis, responded clearly by sending a clear message to Ankara,” he added.
The former Foreign Minister reminded that “Greece reserves the inalienable right to extend its territorial waters up to 12 nautical miles, whenever it deems it nationally appropriate” and reiterated that “the only difference discussed with Turkey concerns the continental shelf and the EEZ – no issue of sovereignty is the subject of dialogue”, while underlining that Fidan’s recent statement on the scope of territorial waters involves flexibility and variability in approach.
In a broader context, Tasos Hatzivasileiou highlighted the importance of regional collaborations, underlining that “we live in an era where regional agreements are more useful and necessary than ever”. “Greece moves forward, with self-confidence, with respect for International Law and with a strong diplomatic capital, an armored national economy and national defense. He is not afraid to talk to anyone, but seeks dialogue with everyone, on the basis of the rules,” he said characteristically.
Regarding the Cyprus issue, Mr. Hatzivasileiou clarified that “the Republic of Cyprus is a sovereign and internationally recognized state, a member of the UN and the EU, and cannot be excluded from any conference. The pseudo-state obviously cannot participate.” “If Turkey insists on the participation of the pseudo-state, then the burden of its non-participation in the conference will be solely its own,” he added.
In closing, he referred to the “elections” in the Occupied, noting that “Erhurman’s sweeping victory is a slap in the face to Ankara that openly supported Tatar.” “It is an indirect confirmation that the Turkish Cypriots prefer the solution of the bi-communal, bi-zonal federation and reject the division promoted by Turkey”, he said, adding however that “the new leader will have to prove in practice that he can wean himself from Ankara”.