Ankara urges neutral approach from EU ahead of East Med summit
State leaders from the bloc are scheduled to meet in Brussels today for a two-day summit to discuss the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean and relations with Ankara
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan yesterday urged European leaders to take an impartial stance on Turkey and the Eastern Mediterranean issue, as the leaders of EU member states are scheduled to meet in a two-day summit in Brussels today. The bloc’s foreign relations, mainly the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean and relations with Turkey, are expected to be discussed at the summit. Sending a letter to EU officials and the leaders of member states, Erdoğan noted Ankara’s policy aims to determine maritime jurisdiction, in line with international law, and protect its sovereign rights and jurisdiction regarding its continental shelf, as well as guarantee Turkish Cypriots’ rights to hydrocarbon resources. “I hope that the EU supports our thoughts, abandons the biased stance against Turkey as a candidate country and stops giving unconditional and unjust support to Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration’s maximalist discourse,” Erdoğan said, adding that the EU’s biased attitude against Turkey contradicts EU and international laws. The president said finding a peaceful solution to the Eastern Mediterranean crisis is everyone’s joint responsibility and that the EU should support cooperation and dialogue and avoid taking steps and making decisions that would further deteriorate the situation.
NOTING that Turkey-EU relations have been through a series of difficult tests in the past six decades, Erdoğan said Turkey anticipates cooperation among all parties, an equal share of resources and peace and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean.
“We hope that hydrocarbon resources form the basis for a resolution and a greater EU the same way coal and steel formed the basis for the EU’s point of origin,” Erdoğan said in his letter, adding that Turkey is not behind the tensions, Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration are.
He continued by saying that Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration have consistently disregarded Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots, have taken unilateral steps and have adopted a fait accompli policy, as the EU continued to remain silent since 2003.
“The Greek Cypriot administration, which became an EU member in 2003, has signed maritime jurisdiction agreements with neighboring countries in 2003, 2007 and 2010, in complete disregard of Turkish Cypriots,” Erdoğan said, adding that the administration started its first drilling in 2011.
Referring to Greece’s “maximalist” ambitions to limit Turkey to the Gulf of Antalya, Erdoğan said Athens and Greek Cypriots have been trying to enforce the Map of Seville on Turkey through the EU, but the map’s borders are actually the EU’s outer maritime borders.
The president also noted that Greece’s demands for Turkey to halt hydrocarbon activities in the Eastern Mediterranean are unjust, as he reiterated Turkey’s commitment to start a dialogue without preconditions.
“On the other hand, as the co-founders of the now-defunct Republic of Cyprus and as the joint owners of the island, Turkish and Greek Cypriots need to facilitate a cooperative mechanism regarding fair distribution of income from hydrocarbon resources,” Erdoğan said, adding that the sides do not need to wait for a solution to the Cyprus issue to establish such a mechanism.
Erdoğan also said it would be beneficial to establish a comprehensive energy cooperation forum on the island, which would bring all sides together and that Turkey would fully support such an initiative.
Tensions have been running high for weeks in the Eastern Mediterranean as both Turkey and Greece have been conducting military maneuvers in the area.
Ankara has also consistently contested the Greek Cypriot administration’s unilateral drilling in the Eastern Mediterranean, asserting that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) also has rights to the natural resources in the area.
Turkey has demanded that the host of disagreements it has with Greece be handled as a whole. Those include territorial waters in the Eastern Mediterranean, the continental shelf, demilitarization of the islands, the legal status of geographical formations, the width of national air space and search and rescue operations.
Turkey also demands that the topics of the continental shelf and exclusive economic zones (EEZ) should be approached with equitable principles, not Greece’s current expansionist approach.
ANKARA EXPECTS CONCRETE STEPS
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also said yesterday that Turkey expected concrete steps to be taken at the EU summit regarding issues including the updating of a 2016 migrant deal and customs union with the bloc, as well as visa liberalization.
In March 2016, Ankara and Brussels signed an agreement to reduce the number of migrants taking the dangerous Aegean Sea route to Europe and to find a solution for the
influx of migrants heading to EU countries. According to the deal, Turkey was promised a total of 6 billion euros ($6.77 billion) in financial aid, which was initially designed to be given to the country in two stages and to be used by the Turkish government to finance projects for Syrian refugees. Visa freedom for Turkish citizens was also a perk of the agreement. In addition, the customs union between Turkey and the EU was to be updated.
In exchange for these promises, Turkey took responsibility for discouraging migration through the Aegean Sea by taking stricter measures against human traffickers and improving the conditions of Syrian refugees living in Turkey.
Despite significant developments controlling migration traffic, the EU has not delivered on commitments pledged in the deal.
Speaking to the Anadolu Agency’s (AA) Editor’s Desk, Çavuşoğlu also said a majority of the bloc’s member states understand Ankara’s demands in the Eastern Mediterranean, and many of them acknowledge Turkey’s stance and reject the so-called “Seville Map,” in reference to Greece’s maximalist aspirations in the region.
“As decisions in the European Parliament are made on the basis of consensus, Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration took the EU hostage with their veto threats, just like they vetoed sanctions against Belarus,” Çavuşoğlu said.
He criticized Greek Prime Minister Kyria
kos Mitsotakis’ administration of refraining from dialogue with Turkey, in a similar manner with his predecessor Alexis Tsipras.
“Like the previous (Alexis) Tsipras government, the Mitsotakis administration also refrains from dialogue with Turkey, even though Foreign Minister Dendias is a close friend of mine. They bow to the pressure from media, public opinion,” he said.
Later in the day, the Foreign Ministry noted that Çavuşoğlu spoke with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell on the phone. Çavuşoğlu discussed Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan in the occupied NagornoKarabakh region and the Eastern Mediterranean crisis with Borrell, the ministry said.
The EU on Tuesday warned that all options were still on the table when it came to defending its interests if Turkey did not engage “constructively” in attempts to ease the territorial dispute in the Eastern Mediterranean. In his invitation letter, the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, said that a dinner this evening would be devoted exclusively to the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean and relations with Ankara.
“Our objective is to create a space for a constructive dialogue with Turkey to achieve stability and security in the whole region and to ensure full respect for the sovereignty and sovereign rights of all EU member states,” he wrote.
“This will only be possible if Turkey engages constructively. All options remain on
the table to defend the legitimate interests of the EU and its member states.”
MERKEL URGES BALANCED POLICY
Another statement ahead of the summit came from Berlin. German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday called for a balanced policy towards Turkey.
Addressing lawmakers during a budget debate, Merkel voiced concern over recent tensions, also underlining the importance of continued cooperation with Turkey on issues of common interest.
“Turkey is our partner in NATO. Turkey’s achievements accommodating refugees are really amazing and remarkable, probably it is hosting the largest number of refugees worldwide,” she underlined, adding that almost 4 million Syrian refugees live in the country.
The chancellor stressed that EU-Turkey relations are multifaceted, covering various areas of common interest. She signaled that her government would not support calls by Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration to impose strong sanctions against Ankara.
“We have to weigh very carefully how we can contribute to resolving the disputes, but also how we can find a way to strengthen our cooperation,” said Merkel.
“We have to rebalance our relationship with Turkey, but also continue our cooperation in many important areas.”