Statements of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, N. Dendias, following the extraordinary meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council and his meetings with U.S. Secretary of State M. Pompeo and Austrian FM

Today was a very busy and productive day. I met a short while ago with my American colleague, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The State Department’s clear stance leaves no room for misinterpretation. So, I had the opportunity to express my thanks for this clear position from the State Department and the U.S. side.

I set out for him the current situation in the Eastern Mediterranean. As we all know, Turkey is escalating its provocative conduct. It is trying to impose faits accomplis. Turkey is militarising the situation, exposing in the clearest possible manner its lack of legal arguments.

I stressed to Mr. Pompeo, as well as to my European interlocutors, that Turkey is the sole instigator of the escalation in tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean and that it needs to withdraw immediately from the Greek continental shelf. This is a necessary precondition for our being able to de-escalate the situation. What's more, this position is shared by all my interlocutors, as confirmed by today’s extraordinary meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council.

I would like to express my satisfaction with the condemnation of Turkey’s illegal conduct and with the support our partners expressed once again for Greece and Cyprus. The list of sanctions we have requested from the services of the European Union is being drawn up. It will be the subject of our upcoming discussion in Berlin at the end of the month. Our goal is for us to have a tool ready, in the hands of the European Union, in case it is needed. A tool that will lead Turkey to return to the path of legality and International Law. I want to make it clear that the Turkish leadership’s specious calls for dialogue are constantly confounded by the flagrant threats that always accompany these calls.

At the meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council, I presented, with evidence, the actual operational situation in the region. So that our friends and partners can see what Greece is facing.

Greece is a peaceful country. It resolves issues through dialogue and on the basis of international law. The recent agreements with Italy and Egypt prove this.

We remain open to dialogue with Turkey. But not under pressure or blackmail. Dialogue is carried out under the rules of international law and the Law of the Sea. And on the only actual dispute we have. Not on just any issue.

Finally, from here in Vienna, I would like to express my very warm thanks to my colleague the Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alexander Schallenberg. In Vienna, Greece’s positions were heard favourably.  Our position was also expressed in the clearest manner by Austria during the meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council that just ended.