Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Turkey and Greece will continue talks over their contested Mediterranean territorial claims. The talks to take place with the European Union (EU) are potentially fruitless if the European Union threatens to impose sanctions, a spokesman for the Turkish presidency said on Sunday.
The two members of NATO and neighboring Neagra are mired in bitter disputes over the extent of their continental rights in the eastern Mediterranean. Tensions flared last month when Turkey sent ships to survey gas and oil in contested waters.
EU member Greece condemned the move as illegal and urged, along with Cyprus, for a strong response from EU leaders when they meet on Thursday.
Ankara pulled the Oruc Reis ship last week. He described the move as a cessation of routine maintenance but later said it opened up opportunities for diplomacy to reduce tensions with Athens.
“At this point, the climate becomes much more suitable for starting negotiations,” presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin told the Dogan News Agency. “… Exploration talks may resume.”
Last month Greece and Turkey were on the verge of resuming those “exploratory” talks, which were suspended in 2016. But Turkey cut contact and sent Oruc Reis into disputed waters after Greece signed a maritime demarcation deal with Egypt, angering Ankara.
Threat of Sanctions
Erdogan has been in talks with EU Council president Charles Michel, who chairs a meeting of EU leaders, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is trying to defuse the crisis.
But Cyprus, protesting the presence of two Turkish exploration ships in the waters of the divided island, insists on sanctions against Ankara and has blocked EU action against Belarus for alleged electoral fraud until its demands are met.
“Threats of blackmail and sanctions against Turkey are fruitless,” Kalin said. European politicians should know this by now.
Erdogan tweeted at the weekend that Turkey believed the dispute could be resolved through dialogue while maintaining its rights in the region.
“We want to give as much diplomacy space as possible, listening to every genuine call,” he tweeted. “With this vision, we will continue to defend the drop of water and the territory of our country to the end.”
(hps / hps)
– .
