Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu did not rule out the possibility of a future joint appeal of Greece and Turkey to the International Court of Justice of the Hague, in order to solve their maritime disagreements in the region of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.
Speaking with Greece’s Sunday newspaper ”TO VIMA,” Cavusoglu said that his country remains open to all possibilities; he noted, however, that Ankara has reservations in regard to this Court’s jurisdiction.
“The choice to hear the differences between Turkey and Greece at the International Court of Justice in The Hague was not openly discussed at our meeting with Prime Minister Mitsotakis in London, as it is a matter of a later stage. We do not automatically recognize the mandatory jurisdiction of the Court of Justice and Greece has expressed reservations about the jurisdiction of the Court on maritime delimitation issues. However, we remain open to all options that are acceptable to both sides, but we must follow a dialogue process to reach a mutually acceptable outcome,” the Turkish FM told the Greek newspaper.
Cavusoglu also said that the Greek press constantly depicts Turkey’s positions as “hostile”, “aggressive” or “irrational,” noting that the Turkish society does not have such feelings about Greece.
The Turkish Minister defended his government’s agreement with Libya, noting that “in our region, there are complex problems for which each side has its own interpretation.”
President Erdogan Challenges the Sovereigntly of Greek Islands
In the meantime, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed in a speech he gave on Sunday in Gölcük, Turkey that some of the sovereignty of the Greek islands is ”disputed.”
””Those who make plans on islands of disputed sovereignty in the Aegean know that the field is not free,” the Turkish President noted, in an unprecedented challenge of Greece’s sovereign rights in the Aegean Sea.
“No one should try to exclude and trap us on our own shores, or steal our financial interests,” the Turkish President went on.
He also commented on the partnership between Greece, Cyprus, Israel and Egypt, noting that ”Those who stand up against us have no sense of international law and they also have no mercy.”
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