FM Dendias on Greek-Turkish relations and the Cyprus issue: ‘No one should be naive or entertain illusions’

“It would be most fortunate if Turkiye distanced itself from the logic of revisionism and neo-Ottomanism and showed a sincere willingness to enter into a meaningful and constructive dialogue to resolve our unique dispute, which concerns the delimitation of the continental shelf and EEZ, on the basis of International Law and the International Law of the Sea,” Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said on Thursday in an interview with the newspaper “Naftemporiki.”

However, he added, “in the case of Greek-Turkish relations, as well as for the Cyprus issue, no one should be naive or entertain illusions.”

Asked to comment on the result of the first round of the presidential elections in Turkiye, Dendias noted that Erdogan’s victory “did not surprise us, we had had indications that this would happen.”

“From our side, it is a self-evident obligation of our country to cooperate with the leadership chosen by the Turkish people, and that is what we will do. We are always working towards the improvement of bilateral relations, without this ruling out our preparation for the undesirable possibility of tension.”

Dendias underlined that, until now, the Greek-Turkish exploratory contacts “which had started with the intention of serving a specific goal of the time, that is to take the matter to The Hague by 2004, have not yielded the results one would have hoped for.”

For this reason, Dendias said, he intended to propose to the prime minister that there be “some modifications of the process, within the framework of our permanent positions.”
“They will aim at the required renewal of the overall process, potentially increasing the prospects for a better outcome in the effort to launch a formal dialogue with Turkey, based on International Law and the International Law of the Sea,” he pointed out.

SOURCE; ANA-MPA