Cyprus and Greece agreed on Tuesday as regard their next steps and what they will be concretely pursuing in view of the upcoming informal EU Foreign Ministers meeting in Berlin, Foreign Minister, Nikos Christodoulides said after the talks he had in Nicosia with his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias, with whom he discussed about the Turkish illegal activities in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the Greek continental shelf.
 
Christodoulides said that “we consider that developments in the region will to a large extent affect the future of the EU-Turkish relations”, noting that “our approach as regards the EU-Turkish relations and the relations of the EU with any other state is a two-fold one: a carrot and stick approach where there can be cooperation wherever there is will towards this end, but also a substantive reaction when basic EU principles and values are violated.”
 
Christodoulides said that there can be no deadlocks in diplomacy and that determination, patience, persistence and clear goals are needed. He said that dialogue can bear fruit once there is real will by everyone and that Cyprus is ready to discuss with other neighbouring states with a view to delimitate maritime borders on the basis of the international law and the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention , as it has done with Egypt, Israel and Lebanon.”

On his part Dendias said in his statements that the escalation of the Turkish offensive behaviour is against the EU and therefore the European reaction to address it must be culminated.
 
He underlined that “we are taking and we will take initiatives that will prevent the creation of a fait accompli” and expressed support to dialogue under the rules of the international law and the rule of law, the Law of the Sea and good neighbourhood relations.
 
He said that the Turkish provocations constitute the choice of a troublemaker and show the deadlock of his own choices. Moreover, he underlined that unlawful actions do not create a fait accompli and do not produce law.
 
In his statements, Christodoulides said, inter alia, that the two Ministers and their aides are coordinating on a daily basis, particularly in view of developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and Turkey’s behaviour, which he described as anachronistic.
 
He said that this behaviour negatively affects “our efforts and the real will of Greece and Cyprus so that conditions of security and stability in the broader region of the Eastern Mediterranean will prevail.”
 
Christodoulides said that for a long time now Cyprus and Greece have been saying that the appeasement of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would lead to an unprecedented culmination of Turkey’s unlawful behaviour.
 
He said that they discussed about the latest developments, evaluated the results of the recent EU Foreign Affairs Council, exchanged views and agreed about the next steps and what they are pursuing in view of the forthcoming informal meeting of the EU Foreign Ministers in Berlin.  

Moreover he said that they thoroughly discussed about the initiatives which Nicosia and Athens are undertaking in the region to consolidate a partnership without any a priori exclusions with a view to make the region an example of cooperation among states with full respect to basic principles and values of the international system and the international law.
 
He said that despite negative developments in the region due to the behaviour and approach of the minority of a single state there can be no deadlocks in diplomacy.
 
He underlined that the EU must be consistent, determined, reliable with no double standards.
 
Moreover he said that they discussed with Dendias about the Cyprus problem and expressed readiness for the resumption of negotiations from where they were suspended in Crans Montana, adding that the current unacceptable state of affairs cannot be the settlement of the Cyprus problem.
 
He said that negotiations must take place in a conducive environment as the UN SG asks without an effort of creating a fait accompli on the ground as in the fenced-off city of Famagusta or at the sea with Turkey’s illegal activities.
 
On his part, Dendias said, inter alia, that Athens and Nicosia are in constant coordination. He said that during the forthcoming informal meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Ministers they are expected to discuss a list of sanctions against Turkey which the EU High Representative is institutionally obliged to present.
 
Moreover he said that Turkey’s illegal behaviour will be discussed at the highest level during the MED7 meeting in Corsica and the informal European Council meeting.
 
Dendias also said that the Turkish provocations show contempt for the explicit positions of the EU, the US and the states of the region as well as the European values, the international law and the Law of the Sea. They constitute a culmination and an unacceptable militarization, the choice of a troublemaker which shows the deadlock of his own choices, he added.  
 
He said that Turkey’s pretextual calls for dialogue do not convince anyone as they are made amid attempts to impose a fait accompli, blackmails and threats.
 
Referring to the Cyprus problem he said that prospects for the resumption of substantive negotiations aiming to solve it are impeded by the ongoing Turkish provocations in the Republic of Cyprus maritime zones and in Famagusta.
 
He stressed that Greece is ready to participate in efforts for a settlement in the framework of  the UNSG’s good offices and to respond to an initiative of the Secretary General for the resumption of the process the soonest possible from where it stopped in Crans Montana.
 
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied its northern third. Turkey has ignored numerous UN resolutions calling for the withdrawal of the Turkish troops and respect of the integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus.
 
Ankara sent on several occasions its seismic research vessel ‘Barbaros’ to Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), following the Republic of Cyprus’ decision, in 2011, to start exploratory offshore drilling. After May 2019, Turkey caused a stir by sending consecutively two drill ships, “Fatih” and “Yavuz”, to conduct unauthorised drilling activities of hydrocarbons in the Eastern Mediterranean, at times in areas licensed by Cyprus to international energy companies.
 
The European Council reaffirmed its full solidarity with Cyprus, regarding the respect of its sovereignty and sovereign rights in accordance with international law and in February 2020, placed two persons under restrictive measures, in relation to Turkey`s unauthorised drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean.

(CNA)