Update 2 - Turkey Rejects Greek Accusations Of Violating Sea Laws

"The remarks in the statement of the Greek Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Venizelos demonstrate that Greece has been in misperception regarding the efforts for a settlement in Cyprus," Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgic said in a statement Friday.



Greek Foreign Minister Venizelos had claimed earlier that Turkey undermined the dialogue in Cyprus by sending Barbaros Hayreddin Pasa seismic research vessel to Eastern Mediterranean and attempted to create a crisis hotspot.



In an answer to a question, Bilgic stated that the remarks in the statement of the Greek Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Venizelos demonstrate that Greece has been in misperception regarding the efforts for a settlement in Cyprus. This misperception, unfortunately, has a significant role on the failure of the negotiation process which has been carried on for 46 years with a view to re-establishing the partnership, which was destroyed by the Greek Cypriots in 1963.



Bilgic stressed that given the Greek Cypriots demolished the partnership state founded in 1960, the title of "Republic of Cyprus", usurped by the Greek Cypriots since 1963, is not legitimate. Therefore, the acts of the Greek Cypriot administration on behalf of the entire island are not valid. As a matter of fact, it should be accepted that the Greek Cypriot administration is not capable of acting in the name of the entire island.



Bilgic underlined that the objective of the negotiations is to establish a new partnership consisting of two politically equal constituent states and added "it was clearly mentioned in the Joint Declaration dated 11 February 2014 that this partnership shall result through separate simultaneous referenda on both sides. Ignoring that and perceiving the negotiation process as a tool for legitimizing the usurpation of the State by the Greek Cypriot side clearly cannot contribute to the efforts towards a settlement."



Bilgic highlighted that Minister Venizelos' remarks, particularly those related to the Turkish foreign policy and in which he questioned the international legality of Turkey's practices and tried to link those allegations to the bilateral relations between Turkey and Greece, were made with internal politics concerns as a result of incorrect logic.



Bilgic said "It is clear that engaging in an attitude with such an unconstructive rhetoric by Greece will not contribute to the improvement of our bilateral relations and to finding a solution to the Cyprus problem. Turkey is committed to continue to deal with problems through existing dialogue channels. It is also necessary to emphasize that taking new steps that ignore Turkey's legitimate rights and interests emanating from the international law on its continental shelf in Eastern Mediterranean will serve no other purpose than creating new problems. Actually, we brought this to the attention of Greece on different occasions."



The spokesperson underlined that in this sensitive period Eastern Mediterranean region is going through, Turkey, which has the longest coastline in Eastern Mediterranean, will continue to maintain its constructive attitude in order to strengthen peace and stability and added "We recommend to all relevant parties to adopt the same attitude".



The Greek Foreign Minister accused Turkey for undermining the dialogue in Cyprus by sending Barbaros Hayreddin Pasa seismic research ship to Eastern Mediterranean and for attempting to create a crisis hotspot and claimed that Barbaros Hayreddin Pasa ship would attempt to carry out exploration that is obviously a flagrant flouting of the international law of the sea.



Minister Venizelos also said Turkey's responsibility about the issue is "huge" and stated:



"That is why we call on Turkey to reverse course, not just with the vessel, but also in its foreign policy, and to manoeuver within the framework of international legality, to assist and support the negotiations in Cyprus, and to move within the framework of legality, which is the secure framework both for our bilateral relations and for Turkey's European course."



www.aa.com.tr/en - Ankara