ENERGY: Greece tells Turkey to stop illegal actions in Cyprus EEZ

Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Katrougalos conveyed to his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Çavuşoğlu, Greece’s strong condemnation of Turkey’s incursion in Cyprus’ EEZ, on the margins of the 129th Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, in Helsinki.

Katrougalos told journalists that he expressed to his Turkish counterpart Greece’s unreserved condemnation of the unilateral illegal actions of Turkey in Cyprus’ EEZ, asking that these activities immediately stop.

The two Foreign Ministers also discussed the need to de-escalate the tension in the Aegean, in order to avoid an accident, which is an unwanted possibility for both countries.

In this context, the Greek Foreign Minister stressed that Turkey should stop violating Greek airspace, underlining the importance of the confidence-building measures, agreed between the Turkish President Erdogan and the Greek Prime Minister Tsipras, during the latter’s recent official visit to Turkey.

The two Ministers agreed on the need to deepen discussions on the confidence-building measures and the Turkish delegation’s visit to the Greek Defence Ministry on 20 May, constitutes a step towards this direction, Katrougalos said.