The Turkish Foreign Ministry in a
written statement has reacted to
statements made by Greek President
Prokopis Pavlopoulos in the Dodecanese
on Tuesday. The Turkish FM once again
states that the Aegean islands should be
demilitarized.
“The statements made by the President
of Greece create both surprise and
anguish and there is no doubt that they
lack knowledge of basic international
law” “The Treaty of Lausanne, taking
into account Turkey’s defence needs
provided the demilitarization regime in
the Aegean islands. With the Treaty of
Paris that was continued and
strengthened, “says the Turkish Ministry.
Ankara states that “it is Turkey’s duty to
express their objections to the
militarization of these islands by Greece,
which threatens Turkey’s security and it
is our right arising from international
law but it is also important for the
maintenance of security and peace. ”
The statement continues with statements
against the President of the Republic of
Greece, stating that “Greece on an
international level accuses our country
of increasing the tension in the Aegean.
But Greece does not hesitate in violating
international law and its High
Representative is making provocative
statements. This provides the EU and the
international community with some
basic information about who is raising
the tension in the Aegean. ”
The statement concludes with Turkeys
well known rhetoric stressing that
“Greece is referring to international law
to resolve the problems in the Aegean,
but when called upon to fulfil its own
obligations, it avoids it. Despite
provocative statements and the unstable
approach of this country, we want to
inform the international community that
we will not forfeit our rights nor our
faith of a serious state”.
Following this announcement the Greek
Foreign Ministry reacted: “To know
international law means above all to
respect it and not violate it”, states the
Ministry’s announcement concerning
Turkey’s accusations following the
statements of Greek President Prokopis
Pavlopoulos.