Turkey trying to create faits accomplis while avoiding sanctions, Dendias said
"Through its actions in the wider region, Turkey is threatening peace, security and stability. On the one hand, it is striving to create faits accomplis and, on the other hand, to avoid measures being taken against it," stated Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias on Friday, during a visit to Nicosia.
After the end of a meeting with his Cypriot counterpart Nikos Christodoulides, Dendias said that his visit was taking place at a very crucial time for Greece and Cyprus, but also for Europe in general. "The common denominator is Turkey's illegal and provocative behaviour," he noted.
Dendias referred to his meeting with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, saying that he briefed Anastasiades on initiatives taken by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis but also Dendias himself ahead of the EU Foreign Affairs Council and the upcoming European Council focusing on EU-Turkey relations.
He also noted that Turkey's recent gestures toward a supposed de-escalation were not convincing: "For this reason, we have jointly called on all the other EU member-states to assume their responsibilities. They must take decisions such that Turkey is led to a path of genuine de-escalation and to a constructive dialogue on the sole basis we are able to accept, that basis being international law and the Law of the Sea."
Dendias also referred to the Cyprus issue, saying this "continues to be a top priority for Greek foreign policy."
Greece has indicated its readiness for a resumption of Cyprus talks during a recent visit of the UN special envoy for Cyprus Jane Holl Lute, he noted, "but [only] from the point where [talks] stopped at Crans Montana in July 2017, and on the basis of what was agreed at the meeting between President Anastasiades and the Turkish-Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci in Berlin in November 2019."
"We also repeated in the clearest possible terms our condemnation of Turkey's unilateral actions in Varosha, actions that blatantly violate UN Security Council resolutions," he added.
Finally, Greece again underlined the need for a comprehensive, just and viable solution for the Cyprus issue, in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions and the European Union's acquis, Dendias added.
