Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said on Tuesday that Turkey has always believed in a peaceful solution in compliance with international law and good neighbourly relations and noted that Ankara favours dialogue with Athens.

Although Turkey favours dialogue and a peaceful solution, it will not allow its rights and those of the Turkish Cypriots to be violated, he said, noting that any fait accompli would not be tolerated by Turkey.

Akar made the remarks while speaking to the press following a meeting with Georgian and Azerbaijani Defence Ministers.

Referring to a recent incident in which the Greek Cypriot research vessel Nautical Geo was intercepted while trying to violate the Turkish continental shelf, Akar stressed that Greece continues to engage in provocations and violations despite Turkey’s warnings.

Turkey has never been a threat to any party but on the contrary always a credible, strong and efficient ally, Akar concluded.

Meanwhile the Justice and Development Party (AKP) Spokesman Ömer Çelik made a statement at the end of the Party meeting regarding the developments taking place in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Calling on Greece and the Greek Cypriots to abandon their maximalist behavior in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, Çelik said “a policy whereby a country thinks the Aegean is its own lake and ignores the existence of a state like the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has nowhere to go.”

“The Blue Homeland is our red line. It is an inseparable part of the motherland,” he added.