Mitsotakis spells out message to Turkey

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called on Turkey to “stop the provocations” in the Eastern Mediterranean and return to the negotiating table in order to resolve disagreements regarding the delimitation of maritime zones.

“My message to Turkey is very simple: stop the provocations and let’s start talking as civilized neighbors,” he said during an interview with CNN on Wednesday evening.

He also reiterated a proposal for Athens and Ankara to refer the issue to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, if bilateral discussions do not yield any results.

“We should sit and discuss as civilized neighbours and if cannot resolve this issue the two of us we can always take it to the international court and have the court decide on our behalf."

"But what we cannot tolerate is unilateral activity by Turkey claiming what we consider to be Greek exclusive economic zone and for Turkey to challenge this premise to send not only an exploration ship but also a significant number of military vessels to the area,” he said.

Mitsotakis also referred to the recent agreement with Egypt for the demarcation of exclusive economic zones, saying it could "serve as a blueprint" for other agreements in the region.

"But this cannot happen if we are engaged in saber-rattling and if we have to face now and then half the Turkish fleet sailing in the Aegean or the eastern Mediterranean," he continued and mentioned the recent collision of a Greek and a Turkish frigate off the coast of Kastellorizo during naval maneuvering.