The Aegean Sea is not a Greek lake, a former Greek foreign minister said as he underlined that the current regional conditions between Turkey and Greece require an immediate resolution.
The ongoing Russian war in Ukraine signals the coming of a new cold war, a proxy war being fought between the East and the West, to which Greece and Turkey belong, former Greek Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos said in an address to the OT Economical Forum, as the Greek newspaper To Vima reported Thursday.
Venizelos said Turkey is the Eastern Mediterranean country with the longest coastline and that Greece and Turkey must act to demarcate maritime borders in the Mediterranean under international law.
He noted the good relations Turkey maintains with Ukraine and Russia, and its mediation efforts to find a solution to the crisis, while pointing out Turkey seeks a more autonomous foreign policy since it is still in the West.
But Turkish-Russian relations are complicated. In some domains, their interests converge, in others, they diverge, he argued.
Venizelos added that the war should have removed any doubts and discussion on the place of Greece in the world and the direction of its foreign policy. Greece is a Western country, he said.
Venizelos is an expert in international law and was deputy prime minister and foreign minister in the left-wing PASOK party government from June 2013 to January 2015.
Turkey expects to see positive developments in its relations with its western neighbor Greece, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said earlier this week, as he highlighted Turkey’s commitment to regional peace.
NATO allies and neighbors Turkey and Greece are at odds over a number of issues, including competing claims over jurisdiction in the Eastern Mediterranean, air space, energy, the ethnically split island of Cyprus and the status of the islands in the Aegean Sea.
Turkey, which has the longest continental coastline in the Eastern Mediterranean, has rejected maritime boundary claims by Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration, stressing that their excessive claims violate the sovereign rights of Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots.
Turkish leaders have repeatedly stressed that Ankara is in favor of resolving outstanding problems in the region through international law, good neighborly relations, dialogue and negotiations.
Senior Turkish officials continue to question Greek sovereignty over parts of the Aegean Sea but, last year, Ankara resumed bilateral talks with Athens.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ visit to Turkey last month sent positive messages, as both leaders underlined the importance of dialogue between the two countries.
The two leaders also highlighted the idea that Turkey and Greece have a special responsibility in building Europe’s security in the face of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. They also agreed on keeping communication channels open and improving bilateral relations despite disagreements.