Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Miltiádis Varvitsiótis and the head of Turkish diplomacy, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, called for dialogue between their two countries on Thursday 10 September in two separate hearings in the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, as the situation in the eastern Mediterranean remains very tense. However, they each accused the other party of being responsible for the lack of such dialogue.
Thus, according to Mr Varvitsiótis, “Greece is determined to resolve its differences with Turkey through dialogue, and dialogue includes referral to the International Court of Justice in The Hague”. He also warned that the resolution of this dispute cannot “take place under military coercion and the threat” of war; otherwise it is not dialogue, but “blackmail”.
The Greek minister criticised Turkey for “bellicose rhetoric”, a “provocative, unilateral, aggressive attitude that threatens peace in the eastern Mediterranean, a flagrant violation of international law that undermines the EU’s interests”. This “excessively polemical” language made Reinhard Bütikofer (Greens/EFA, Germany) cringe, and he wondered whether the Greek minister wanted the conflict to calm down or whether he was happy with the escalation that was giving him a chance to benefit from European solidarity.
And while Varvitsiótis described Turkish statements that Greece was unwilling to engage in dialogue as “fake news”, a few hours later his Turkish counterpart once again pointed the finger at Athens. “It is only through sincere dialogue that we will come to a better understanding of each other”, Mr Çavuşoğlu said, adding that his country is “ready to recommit itself to peace”. “We are ready to talk without preconditions, but if Greece insists on preconditions, then we will also insist on preconditions”, he warned.
“Turkey’s rights are being set aside, so we have no choice but to support military measures, but President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he is ready to sit around the negotiating table with the countries concerned in order to achieve a fair distribution of resources”, Çavuşoğlu added, regretting that his country is still being asked to show goodwill, while the same request is not being made of the Greeks or the Greek Cypriot community.
The Turkish Minister also called on the EU to show neutrality and honesty. “We understand the concept of solidarity, but it goes against our sovereign rights; we hope that common sense will prevail”, he said. According to Çavuşoğlu, the EU “has unfortunately become part of the problem by siding with Greece” and recalled that last January the EU Court of Justice declared itself incompetent to arbitrate the border dispute between Croatia and Slovenia (see EUROPE 12416/24).
Sending a clear message to Turkey
The European Council will meet on 24 and 25 September to discuss relations with Turkey, and all options will be on the table. Mr Varvitsiótis hoped that on this occasion a “clear message” would be sent to Ankara. He said the EU had to decide what kind of relationship it wanted with Ankara, mentioning the “carrot and stick” policy. The Greek minister proposed “severe”, “but perhaps time-limited” sanctions against Turkey in order to exert “considerable pressure” on it to change its attitude and to show that the EU is ready to negotiate, but that it is still there to defend its values.
In his view, the EU should tell Turkey that it has a limited amount of time to put an end to its threats, stop its provocative behaviour, and return to the negotiating table to find a peaceful solution, not only to the delimitation of maritime zones, but also to the whole range of conflicts that have plagued relations between Athens and Ankara for years.
The minister received expressions of solidarity from many MEPs, who called for sanctions or even an arms embargo on Turkey, “because Greek citizens should not live in fear of European weapons being pointed at them”, said Greek MEP Níkos Androulákis, speaking on behalf of the S&D group. Angel Dzhambazki (EPP, Bulgaria) also proposed ending EU accession negotiations.
The Mediterranean remains on Parliament’s agenda
Parliament will return to the issue on the morning of Tuesday 15 September with a plenary debate on the escalation of tensions in the eastern Mediterranean, followed by the adoption of a resolution.
Furthermore, the French President, Emmanuel Macron, in Corsica ahead of a Med7 meeting (see EUROPE 12534/34), called on Europeans to be “clear and firm” with the Turkish government, which has exhibited “unacceptable behaviour”. In his view, Turkey “is no longer a partner” in the eastern Mediterranean, although he added that he deeply wished to re-engage in a “fruitful” dialogue with it. One of the meeting’s objectives is to “make progress towards consensus on EU-Turkey relations” ahead of the European Council at the end of the month. To prepare for this European Council, its President, Charles Michel, will visit Greece, Cyprus and Malta next week. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)