×
GreekEnglish

×
  • Politics
  • Diaspora
  • World
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Cooking
Tuesday
24
Mar 2026
weather symbol
Athens 11°C
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • World
  • Diaspora
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Mediterranean Cooking
  • Weather
Contact follow Protothema:
Powered by Cloudevo
> Politics

Prokopis Pavlopoulos: Turkey defiantly disregards international and European law

"Greece and Cyprus cannot conceivably tolerate it", says the former President of the Republic, Academician and Honorary Professor of the Law School of the National Academy of Sciences of the Hellenic University of Athens

Newsroom October 19 12:41

 

>Related articles

The Times: The British Royal Navy will lead an international force to open the Strait of Hormuz

Cyprus: Low-altitude flights by Turkish F-16s, Greek fighter jets on constant readiness with training flights

Mitsotakis speaks with the Emir of Qatar on developments in the Middle East

Speaking about the book by Professor and former minister Mr. Panagiotis Roumeliotis, “The Fragmentation of the World” (published by Livanis) on October 17, 2024, alongside Evangelos Venizelos, Michalis Sallas, and Dimitris Konstas, the former President of the Hellenic Republic, Academic and Honorary Professor of the Law School of the University of Athens, Mr. Prokopios Pavlopoulos, emphasized, specifically regarding Greek-Turkish relations, the following among other points:

A. Exploiting, without concealment, the effects of this “fragmentation” in our wider region, due to the dangerous inertia of the International Community and the European Union, Turkey once again demonstrates blatant disregard for International and European Law, directly targeting the national sovereignty of both Greece and Cyprus. This becomes more than evident if we consider Turkey’s very recent stance concerning:

  1. 1. Firstly, the statements by Tayyip Erdogan at the UN General Assembly—and shortly afterward, the outrageous behavior of his “mouthpiece,” Turkish Cypriot leader Tatar, in front of the UN Secretary-General—where he spoke unhesitatingly about “two states” in suffering Cyprus. Essentially, this refers to the partition of Cyprus, which is clearly and unequivocally contrary to every notion of International Law as well as to the content of numerous UN Security Council resolutions. Furthermore, it contradicts every concept of European Law, given that the Republic of Cyprus is a full member state of the European Union and its “hard core,” the Eurozone.
  2. 2. Secondly, the recent statements by “circles” of the Turkish government ahead of the upcoming meeting between the Foreign Ministers of Greece and Turkey. According to these statements—which represent Turkey’s longstanding position, as it consistently undermines any substantive exploratory talks from the outset—Turkey completely rejects Greece’s stance on the existence of only one dispute between the two countries, that being the delimitation of the island continental shelf and the corresponding Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean. On the contrary, Turkey claims there is a so-called “package” of disputes that even touch upon the core of Greece’s national sovereignty, such as its territorial waters, borders, and the defensive fortification of its islands.

B. The International Community—primarily the UN—and the European Union must finally recognize that Turkey adopts a broader attitude of mockery and disdain toward them. This behavior also includes NATO, which tolerates actions by Turkey that blatantly violate key provisions of its Charter. These actions ultimately strike at the Alliance, pushing it to the verge of disintegration.

  1. 1. How else can one interpret Turkey’s stance regarding the war and Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine? Turkey, driven solely by its economic and geostrategic interests, has become an obvious “crutch ally” of Russia and Putin. How else can one also interpret Turkey’s stance, which NATO unfortunately allows, as it “sits on two stools” while openly planning, by its own admission, to join BRICS? For which other NATO member state would the Alliance tolerate such an unthinkable stance?
  2. 2. In the face of this extremely dangerous challenge directed against them, Greece and Cyprus, with steadfast unity, must firmly warn the International Community and the European Union that they will no longer tolerate Turkey’s threats or the international and European inaction. They are prepared to act with all legal means, including the use of veto power in decision-making regarding sanctions against other states, if the International Community and the European Union continue to refuse to impose equivalent sanctions on Turkey. Particularly, sanctions related to Turkey’s fifty-year-long occupation—an outrageous violation of International and European Law—of one-third of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus.”

Ask me anything

Explore related questions

#cyprus#diplomacy#greece#international law#politics#prokopis pavlopoulos#turkey#UN#world
> More Politics

Follow en.protothema.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news

See all the latest News from Greece and the World, the moment they happen, at en.protothema.gr

> Latest Stories

The Times: The British Royal Navy will lead an international force to open the Strait of Hormuz

March 24, 2026

Cyprus: Low-altitude flights by Turkish F-16s, Greek fighter jets on constant readiness with training flights

March 24, 2026

Mitsotakis speaks with the Emir of Qatar on developments in the Middle East

March 24, 2026

Alexis Charitsis resigns as leader of New Left: “Political disagreement cannot keep us trapped in stagnation”

March 24, 2026

The Middle East in Flames: How the Gulf’s golden cage was broken

March 24, 2026

Athens vs. Madrid measures, tourism (was soaring until the war), the defenses of PPC, Tottis’ triple “hammer,” the golden walls collapsing in the war

March 24, 2026

Ignorance is the greatest sin – Why education is sacred across civilizations

March 24, 2026

Pierrakakis meets with a delegation of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Banking Association

March 24, 2026
All News

> Greece

Lawsuit filed against Tsagkarakis over forged Mytaras painting, complaints against him continue

New complaints have been filed with the Hellenic Police regarding well-known gallerist Giorgos Tsagkarakis, who was arrested for selling forged artworks and possessing antiquities

March 24, 2026

Three new cases of foot-and-mouth disease in Lesbos bring the total to five

March 24, 2026

March 25th: Student parade in the rain in central Athens, which politicians are present, see photos and video

March 24, 2026

March 25: Student parade today at Syntagma Square, see which roads are closed

March 24, 2026

The dangerous secrets of the “Devil’s Pit” at Limanakia of Vouliagmeni, where the diver went missing

March 24, 2026
Homepage
PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION POLICY COOKIES POLICY TERM OF USE
Powered by Cloudevo
Copyright © 2026 Πρώτο Θέμα