Greek PM hopes Turkey would opt for negotiations over maritime zones dispute

KUWAIT, Aug 12 (KUNA) -- Greece urged its neighbor Turkey to engage in serious talks to settle the escalating dispute over their maritime zones in the Aegean and the East Mediterranean.
"We seek bridges of peace, good faith and cooperation with all," Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a televised address to the nation on Wednesday on the escalation of tension in the East Mediterranean.
The Greek premier expressed the hope that Turkey would come to the table for talks with goodwill on the one difference between the two countries, that of delineating the maritime zones in the Aegean and the East Mediterranean.
He, however, emphasized that his country is ready for all options and does not fear Turkish threats.
"Greece is not a country to threaten others or to accept being blackmailed," but remains vigilant, deploys its armed forces, and resorts to diplomacy to resolve issues, he noted.
"It will not initiate tension, but will respond to any challenge." He slammed Turkey's reaction to the recent agreement signed between Greece and Egypt on their respective exclusive economic zones in the Mediterranean.
"Turkey's reaction to the legal agreement between Greece and Egypt shows that the neighboring country "cannot come to terms with the European principles of the 21st century and remains stuck in the logic of using force and threats," Mitsotakis said.
Under a principled policy, Greece negotiated and signed the agreements delineating its maritime zones with Italy and Egypt, he said, "agreements that show that when there is goodwill and a sense of trust, long-standing difference can be finally resolved." "These kinds of agreements guarantee progress and prosperity of peoples, "always within the framework of International Law." Mitsotakis said that Greece would retain its cool-headedness but along with its political and operational readiness has also mobilized diplomacy.
"We brief friendly countries and public opinion, and we mobilize allies and partners," he underlined.
He pointed out that the immediate acceptance of a Greek request for an extraordinary meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council on Turkish behavior in the East Mediterranean "confirms that the issue is not just about Greek-Turkish relations, but about European relations with Turkey". (end) rs.ibi