Turkish FM says Turkey desires fair distribution of resources in East Med
Date Added: 05 October 2021

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Monday said that Turkey desired diplomacy and a fair distribution of resources in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Speaking during a joint press conference with his Polish counterpart Zbigniew Rau in Warsaw, Çavuşoğlu said that Turkey always prioritised diplomacy when faced with provocative steps.

“However, we are in the field if and when diplomacy fails. And the aim of that is to encourage everyone to return to diplomacy,” he said.

The Turkish foreign minister said that the source of earlier tension in the Eastern Mediterranean was the Greek-Greek Cypriot duo’s maximalist claims.

“They are trying to trap Turkey into a small area by using the Seville Map. We showed them in the field that this will not be possible,” he said, reminding that Ankara had proposed for a multilateral conference to discuss the fair distribution of resources in the region.

“So far there has been no meaningful response from the EU which is very interesting,” Çavuşoğlu said, pointing out that Turkey was interested in discussing how the issue should be settled with a win-win approach for all Mediterranean countries.

He added that in addition to the region’s resources, every country had to protect its continental shelf, its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and its territorial waters.

“Unfortunately Greece and the Greek Cypriot side have been engaging in provocative actions lately. Their ships have been trying to enter our maritime jurisdiction areas. Naturally our navy is first warning them before taking necessary action,” Çavuşoğlu said.

He pointed out that the Greek Cypriot administration had announced that it could start new drilling by the end of October.

“I hope the Polish President Duda listens to both sides during his upcoming visit to Cyprus and provides friendly advice. After all we are in support of diplomacy and a fair distribution of resources. We shall protect our rights and interests and those of Turkish Cypriots to the very end. We will do whatever is necessary should these rights be infringed,” Çavuşoğlu said.