"United and Confident Against the Provocations
Turkey’s escalating provocations in Cyprus and the continued tension in the Aegean are not a show of strength, but one of weakness. We Greeks should not be facing these developments with a sense of fear or rage, but with sobriety and confidence. The truth is that the Turkish policy is marked by perennial elements of hegemony, which not only evoke memories of the Ottoman Empire, but also reflect the significant strengthening of Turkey’s economy under President Erdogan, which led to its entry in the G20. It has been perpetually attempting to play the role of the major regional power and become a hegemonic state in the Muslim world. However, these aspirations do not often take into account either the need to maintain the multifaceted equilibrium in the area or the principles of multilateralism and international legality. As a result of this policy, it is on a course of increasing alienation from the West, the rest of the Eastern Mediterranean countries, but also major forces of the Arab world.
Meanwhile, the fixed feature of the Turkish policy against Greece is its revisionist strategy against international conventions and especially the Law of the Sea. Perennially, the neighbouring country has been suffocating under the rules of the international law on territorial waters, airspace and financial exploitation of the sea, and provided it could, it would impose political negotiations, under the threat of force, to replace them. In this context, it continues to maintain a state of tension, by actively challenging our airspace and territorial space and threatening drilling in the Cypriot EEZ. This tactic is attempting to create faits accomplis that will be established either in the context of negotiation, which would have later involved Greece, e.g. a heated incident, or before an international court, calling for supposedly establishing a long-term legal practice through accomplished facts, such as those with the impending drilling.
What is it that has changed, though, making this tactic all the more redundant? The systematic and composed diplomatic efforts of Greece and Cyprus have clearly showcased the complete lack of legality of similar actions and have shaped a new diplomatic reality.
Specifically, the delineation of the Cypriot EEZ with countries of the Eastern Mediterranean and the licensing of plots to large multinationals contributed decisively towards safeguarding the Cypriot positions. Meanwhile, through concerted efforts, we have managed to raise awareness in the EU regarding these issues, to foster solidarity through Greece’s Med7 initiative and the upgraded strategic alliance with the US, and to solidify the trilateral strategic cooperation schemes we have initiated, primarily with Egypt and Israel. As a matter of fact, the US is now participating in the latter, which concerns the new EastMed pipeline. This systematic cooperation between Greece and the Republic of Cyprus has been quite fruitful: for the first time ever, the decisions of both the European Parliament and, chiefly, the European Council, in March 2018, clearly and expressly labelled the aforementioned Turkish actions in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean as violations of international law.
Consequently, continuing them not only offers no benefits to Turkey with regard to the creation of accomplished facts, not only does it not allow it to grey out any areas, but exposes it as a country that creates instability and intensifies its alienation. The overall upgraded position of our country internationally and its branding as a pillar of stability and security in the wider region of the Middle East, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans constitute a significant deterrent.
In that vein, the advancement of a multidimensional foreign policy that promoted the relations with Russia and countries of the Middle East was quite important. Besides, the elevated international standing of Greece is also evidenced by the fact that President Obama chose our country for his last, historic speech, while President Macron chose it for his first significant speech about Europe. Our country is steadily following a foreign policy that is based on respecting international law. Obviously, this does not mean retreating. We are steadily rebuffing any attempt at revisionism, and we are insisting on resolving any differences through dialogue. With regard to the relations among states, the law is not enough when it is not based on the strength of diplomacy. To this end, we are coordinating our actions with Cyprus, so that the sovereign rights of the latter are not threatened in the least, aspiring for a clear-cut European front in favour of legality. It must be established that the sovereign rights of Cyprus in its EEZ are also the sovereign rights of the European Union. The European Council at the end of the week shall be crucial in this respect.
In the meantime, we are attempting to defuse the tension in the Aegean, which is posing a threat for an accident, by continuing the discussion for implementing the confidence-building measures (CBMs) that have been decided in the last decades. As a matter of fact, it is an oxymoron that those who accused the Prime Minister of supposedly raising tensions in the area by convening the Government Council on Foreign and Defence Affairs (KYSEA) are the same people who had criticised us for continuing the talks for the CBMs, which aimed precisely at defusing tension.
During his visit to Athens, President Erdogan had declared that peace with Greece was the most valuable of all. We shall wait and see if he meant it. Greece is a peace-loving nation, which has steadily, and despite the great odds, pursued dialogue and cooperation with the neighbouring country based on international law and mutual respect. It encouraged reciprocal visits at the highest level. It worked hard for a fair and viable solution to the Cyprus issue at Crans-Montana.
It has and still does strive for the delineation of its continental shelf with Turkey, as is the case with the Republic of Cyprus. After intense and arduous talks, it found common ground with the neighbouring country on managing the flow of refugees and migrants in the Aegean, a crisis that has led both countries towards shouldering an immense burden. Greece is pursuing dialogue but will not give up anything that belongs to it based on the international law. Armed with seriousness, soberness, confidence and national unity, we have nothing to fear."
June 18, 2019