Greek FM’s letter to Borel: Turkey’s provocation can lead to an “accident”

Yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias, sent a letter to the High Representative of the EU for foreign policy matters, Josep Borel, regarding the incident of harassment of a Coast Guard vessel by a Turkish vessel, on January 5 in Farmakonisi.

According to diplomatic sources, in the letter, Mr. Dendias refers to the incident in which a patrol boat of the Coast Guard, while performing an ordered service to identify three Turkish fishing boats that were fishing in the sea area southeast of Farmakonisi, within Greek territorial waters, was harassed from Turkish exponent.

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Turkey’s provocation may lead to ‘accident’

According to the same sources, the Greek Foreign Minister notes that “this repeated Turkish practice creates a dangerous security environment and increases the possibility of an ‘accident’, which could be used by Ankara in order to escalate the tension between Greece and Turkey ».

In addition, the letter points out the avoidance of cooperation and the often aggressive attitude on the part of Turkish fishermen, not only against Coast Guard vessels, but also against Greek fishing vessels, an attitude directed against the legal fishing activities of Greek fishermen.

It is easy to see, notes the Minister of Foreign Affairs, what the consequences of such a development will be for the wider region, but also for Euro-Turkish relations.

The Greek foreign minister then refers to the aggressive rhetoric of Turkish officials, who on an almost daily basis launch unprovoked threats against Greece.

Coupled with the incidents of contesting national sovereignty in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean, it is clear that Turkey, with Illegal Poaching and Unruly (IUU) fishing, adds yet another means to implement its revisionist policy and challenge the status quo of the area.

On the occasion of the incident in question, the Minister of Foreign Affairs emphasizes the need for the EU, if Turkey continues the above practice, to take measures that will impose economic costs on Turkey and requests the implementation of regulation (1005/2008) to combat of IUU fishing, which provides that if a third country does not comply, it is designated as “non-cooperating” and its fishery products can be banned from the EU market.

Such a reaction on the part of the EU, concludes the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs, will send a resounding message to Ankara and demonstrate in practice the solidarity of the EU towards a member state, which on an almost daily basis faces questioning of its sovereignty and threats of war

The letter is being communicated to the vice-president of the Commission, Margaritis Schinas, and to the commissioner for the environment, Virginijus Sinkevičius, according to diplomatic sources.