Threats against Greece over the Aegean Sea from Turkey’s Foreign Minister.
In his response during parliamentary questions on Wednesday evening, Melvut Cavusoglu implied that Turkey will get what it wants even if all the peaceful options fail.
Referring to talks on the continental shelf and territorial waters, Melvut Cavusoglu said: “Will we solve them with Greece through diplomacy or we will go to court? There is one more option for us. If the Grand National Assembly and our state evaluate that option, it will be a one-sided choice”.
What the Turkish Foreign Minister clearly stated is that there is also a third option for these issues besides diplomacy and the Hague tribunal, implying war without, however, naming it.
In the same speech, Cavusoglu also said that “what happened until the Imia crisis occurred, happened. No government after that has any responsibilities. There was no legal or practical change on the status of any island”, referring essentially to the 18 islands in the Aegean that Turkey claims, stating practically that Ankara is following the developments.
As for the exploratory talks between Greece and Turkey, he underlined that they had begun before the AKP government (Erdogan’s party) rise to power, stating: “They began at the time of the late Bulent Ecevit. Why; In order to deal with the issues of Greece’s continental shelf and territorial waters. Will we solve them with Greece through diplomacy or we will go to court? There is one more option for us. If the Grand National Assembly and our state evaluate that option, it will be a one-sided choice. That’s another thing”.
