Turkey is sincere about finding a political solution to the problems with Greece in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean through dialogue, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Tuesday.
“We want to solve the Turkish-Greek problems in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean by peaceful means through dialogue and we are quite sincere about this,” Akar said, adding that Turkey favors neighborly relations and international law. He was speaking at a meeting with top commanders, including Chief of General Staff Gen. Yaşar Güler, Land Forces Commander Gen. Ümit Dündar and Naval Forces Commander Adm. Adnan Özbal.
The defense minister noted that despite Turkey’s good intentions, Greece continues to resort to the use of “provocations and illegal and aggressive rhetoric.” He said Turkey expects Athens to end this as soon as possible.
Akar also noted that Greek officials have been using threats against Ankara while the country is still fighting raging fires in several locations.
“This does not accord with neighborly relations or bilateral ties, nor our partnership and unity in NATO,” Akar said, adding that Greece completely disregards international and bilateral agreements.
The two NATO allies have been at odds over decades-old issues including the extent of air and maritime boundaries in the Aegean Sea and the future of the divided island of Cyprus. Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots ruled out discussing a federal system to reunify the island, insisting that a two-state accord is the only way forward.
Turkey, which has the longest continental coastline in the Eastern Mediterranean, has rejected maritime boundary claims made by European Union members Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration, stressing that these excessive claims violate the sovereign rights of both Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Both sides cite a range of decades-old treaties and international agreements to support their conflicting territorial claims.
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. Instead of opting to solve problems with Ankara through dialogue, Athens has, on several occasions, refused to sit at the negotiation table and opted to rally Brussels to take a tougher stance against Turkey.
A 2019 maritime demarcation deal between Ankara and Libya's Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) also infuriated Greece, which says the accord is illegal. Athens has called for the agreement to be annulled, but both Ankara and Libya's new Government of National Unity have pledged commitment to it.
Earlier this year, Turkey and Greece launched the first direct exploratory talks in nearly five years to address their disputes related to sovereignty rights in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Meanwhile, Akar also said Turkey will continue to pursue its counterterrorism operations until the last terrorist is eliminated.
He noted that the PKK and its Syrian offshoot, the YPG/PKK, have been using lies and false propaganda everywhere, including on social media outlets to divide the unity between Turks and Kurds.
Ankara considers the YPG, which was backed by the U.S. on the pretext of fighting the Daesh terrorist group on the ground, a grave national security threat.
Since 2016, Turkey also launched a trio of successful counterterrorism operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018) and Peace Spring (2019).
In its more than 40-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.
