Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Statements about the demilitarization of islands are illogical

The representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave a harsh answer to Mevlut Tsavousoglou after the latter’s inflammatory statements about the demilitarization of Greek islands and the questioning of their sovereignty.

The representative of the Greek ministry, Alexandros Papaioannou, spoke of objections that are unreasonable on the part of Ankara, which Athens rejects in its entirety.

“Regarding the latest allegations made by Turkish officials about the status of the Aegean islands, we reject them in their entirety. These objections not only do not comply with basic principles of international law, but also go beyond simple logic,” he stated characteristically and pointed out that the Greek position on this issue has been expressed repeatedly and publicly, while a relevant letter has been sent by the Permanent Representative of Greece to the UN to the Secretary General of this Organization.

As concerns the continental shelf

Similarly, Mr. Papaioannou underlined that Greece rejects the Turkish unilateral objections to the delimitation of the continental shelf in the Eastern Mediterranean, objections which ignore, once again, the fundamental rules of International Law, and especially of International Law.

“These allegations, among others, are based on a non-existent, invalid and illegal memorandum. Greece remains committed to the principles of international law and is willing to conduct a constructive dialogue with Turkey, based on these principles,” the Foreign Ministry spokesman concluded.