Turkish Foreign Minister vs. EU on "Strategic Compass" - "Guided by Greece and Cyprus"
Strong reaction of the Turkish Foreign Minister for the "Strategic Compass" of the EU. He turns his arrows against Greece and Cyprus and puts the EU in the frame of the problem in the Eastern Mediterranean.
A statement issued by the Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement expressing its strong protest against the EU "Strategic Compass" adopted by the EU Foreign and Defense Council on Monday.
In its announcement, the Turkish Foreign Minister notes: "The Strategic Compass for the Eastern Mediterranean and the reference to our country seems to have been led by two members of the EU. who have maximalist claims on their maritime borders, to the detriment of the persistent denial of the rights of Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots ".
As he notes below, the chapter on the Eastern Mediterranean "is completely contrary to international law, international practice and the EU laws themselves. and so it is disconnected from reality "and he goes on to say that " as the plan fails to point in the right direction, it can not function as a compass and can not be characterized as strategic ".
At the same time, he says that in this way the EU "becomes part of the problem instead of part of the solution in the Eastern Mediterranean" and describes "it is sad that the EU is losing the truth and reality and sees a candidate country and a NATO ally under such a shallow perspective ".
The answer of a European official
Turkey is an important country for the EU and we will try to have the most positive relationship possible, but "at the same time we know that there are challenges in the region, so it is in the Strategic Compass," said a senior European official in the APE-MPE when asked about the reaction. of Ankara on the paragraph concerning the Eastern Mediterranean.
The same official noted that "we tried to find something that is close, an already agreed language from Summits or Councils of Ministers.
"What is in the paragraph on the Eastern Mediterranean is something that has already been said by the Council in recent months and in recent years."
He also stressed that "it is very important to maintain a strong relationship with Turkey, which is a very important country for us, and to try to have a constructive, as positive as possible relationship with this country." But at the same time we know that there are challenges in the region and that is why it is in Compass ".
