Greece’s Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias ordered the immediate delivery of a demarche to Turkey over its new illegal Navtex on Wednesday, and he also briefed Greece’s allies and partners about Turkey’s ongoing illegal behavior, according to a Foreign Ministry announcement.
“With the new illegal Navtex that Turkey has issued, it announces the continuation of its illegal seismic research for the period November 11-23 in an area within the Greek continental shelf in the Eastern Mediterranean, continuously violating the international Law of the Sea and undermining the peace and stability of the region,” said the Foreign Ministry.
“In other words, (Turkey) is trumpeting that it intends to continue ignoring the international community and the recommendations of the European Council to avoid such illegal actions and respect international legality,” the Ministry statement declared.
The statement concluded by saying “Greece again condemns this provocative behaviour, which makes any prospect of constructive dialogue even more distant, and calls on Turkey to immediately revoke the illegal Navtex.”
The Navtex issued earlier on Wednesday for the Turkish oil and gas exploratory vessel the Oruc Reis blocked off an area which includes a region of the sea south of Kastellorizo.
This was swiftly followed by an anti-Navtex message on the part of the Greek government, stating that the Turkish Navtex was illegal and the activities it mentions are not authorized in that area.
The flurry of activity on Wednesday followed the issuance of two new directives by Turkey on Tuesday which called outright for the demilitarization of the Greek islands of Samothrace, Lemnos, Chios and Samos, hinting that Greece having installations there is a violation of the Lausanne Treaty.
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