Greece sees a “convenient moment” for the demarcation of maritime zones with Turkey, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a speech to the UN General Assembly. However, he expressed pessimism about the prospects for finding a solution to the issue of the ethnically divided island of Cyprus, reported the Greek publication “Kathimerini”.
Greece is ready to work to resolve the one major unresolved issue we have with our neighbor: establishing our continental shelf demarcation and exclusive economic zone in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean. We have not been able to effectively address these differences for more than 40 years, but that does not mean the issue is doomed to remain unresolved, Mitsotakis said.
Greece and Turkey, which are members of NATO, have been in conflict for decades on a number of issues – from airspace to maritime jurisdiction in the Eastern Mediterranean and Cyprus.
Agreement on where their maritime zones begin and end is important for determining rights to gas deposits and energy infrastructure schemes, Reuters notes.
Tensions between Ankara and Athens have eased in recent years, and the two sides agreed last year to boost their relationship by pledging to continue communicating and working on the issues that divide them.
„I strongly believe that we have an opportune moment today and we should be brave enough and wise enough to seize this chance,” he said, adding that he was pleased to hear Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan emphasize, that the delimitation of maritime zones, in accordance with international law, is in the common interest of the entire Eastern Mediterranean region.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly in New York yesterday and discussed bilateral relations earlier this week.
On Wednesday, the Greek Foreign Ministry announced that Greece and Turkey will explore whether they can start negotiations on the demarcation of their maritime zones.
However, the Greek Prime Minister was less optimistic about reaching a long-awaited agreement on Cyprus based on the resolutions of the UN Security Council, notes “Kathimerini”.
Cyprus is divided into two parts after the Turkish army invaded the north of the island in 1974 in response to a coup d'état aimed at annexing Cyprus to Greece. In 1983, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is not recognized by any country other than Turkey, was unilaterally proclaimed in the northern part of the island.
Negotiations to find a solution to the Cyprus issue broke off in mid-2017 and have been stalled ever since.
„I reaffirm here today our commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cyprus and to a solution based on a bi-communal federation of two zones with a single international legal personality, a single sovereignty, a single citizenship in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions“ , Mitsotakis said.
In recent years, Ankara has said that the only way to resolve the Cyprus issue is to create two states on the island.
„A two-state solution cannot and will not be accepted. This is simply not a solution," Mitsotakis said.
He reiterated that Athens supports efforts to resume peace talks within the framework set by the United Nations.
„We call on Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot community to sit down at the negotiating table, establish at least mutual trust and engage in frank and honest discussion in search of a mutually acceptable, fair and viable solution,” he said.