Greek-Egyptian Maritime Deal 'Worthless': Erdogan

By Erdogan Cagatay Zontur

A recent maritime deal between Greece and Egypt is "worthless" and inconsequential on exclusive economic zones in the Eastern Mediterranean, the president of Turkey said Friday.

"The agreement between Greece and Egypt is worthless," Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul.

"There's no need for discussion with those who have no rights, especially in the maritime jurisdictions," Erdogan added.

Egypt announced on Thursday that it signed a bilateral agreement with Greece on the delimitation of maritime jurisdictions between the two countries in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry slammed the "so-called agreement" in a statement, asserting that Greece and Egypt had no mutual sea border and that the deal was "null and void" for Ankara.

It added that the demarcated area in the agreement was located on Turkey's continental shelf, as Ankara had reported to the UN. -