The European Council’s president and the leaders of Germany and Austria reiterated the European Union’s support of Greece and Cyprus in the rising escalation by Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean, following a teleconference on Wednesday, referring to the extraordinary meeting scheduled in the end of September where EU relations with Turkey will be reviewed in more depth.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel conveyed the concern of the European Council over the tension in the Eastern Mediterranean and its support of Greece and Cyprus, during a teleconference on Wednesday. (Germany holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU.)
Every possible effort must be made to de-escalate the dangerous tension in the region, Merkel said at the end of the meeting which focused on Belarus. The Council, she added, expressed solidarity to Greece and Cyprus in terms of their rights.
She also reiterated that September’s European Council will focus on the EU’s relations with Turkey, “something that has multiple facets, of course.”
Germany, she underlined, supports the restart of dialogue on disagreements concerning the delineation of maritime borders between the two countries, a dialogue that continued until 2016. “From our point of view, it must restart, especially between Greece and Turkey,” she said, but expressed concern over the escalation and said “we shall return to the issue in depth in September.”
Kurz: EU must take measures
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz also said on Wednesday that the European Union was fully supportive of Greece and Cyprus and called on the EU for a clear reaction to Turkey’s aggressive behavior.
Following the teleconference, Kurz said, “Europe cannot look away from these obvious violations of International Law,” in reference to developments in the Mediterranean.
It is not enough for the EU to say things without acting upon them, but it must “strongly condemn Turkey’s actions and take specific measures against it,” he noted.
Source: ANA-MPA
