BEIRUT, LEBANON (11:20 P.M.) – Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said at the Mediterranean conference at the Italian Institute of International Political Studies that Turkey has new Ottoman dreams, expressing his country’s rejection of them.
He said, “Gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean have led to an escalation of tension in recent years,” wondering whether “cooperation with neighboring countries in the energy sector is a priority for Greece, and what are Athena’s views on developing energy infrastructure in the region.”
“Greece has a unique geographical location at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, and in recent years it has become an energy center, but the development of offshore gas fields is not a priority for it,” Dendias stressed.
He continued, “I would like to say that exploiting gas reserves, especially those on the seabed, is not a necessary top priority for the government. We support the green economy.”
Dendias pointed to the need to properly deal with the Aegean Sea, the Mediterranean and the Ionian Bahrain, saying, “We do not want this paradise to become like the Gulf of Mexico.”
He expressed his country’s concern for Turkey’s actions in the region, and said: “It does not accept international law nor does it accept the international law of the sea … Every country has the right to 12 miles of territorial waters, and Greece has this right .. Turkey says it will be a cause of war,” Any declaration of war if used by Greece. ”
He concluded: “The situation with Turkey is very difficult. It wants to join the European Union, while adopting new Ottoman dreams, and this is unacceptable to us.”
