Foreign Ministry dismisses Ankara’s ‘distortions’
In response to criticism from Ankara regarding the memorandum of understanding between Greece and Egypt regarding the search and rescue areas, Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexandros Papaioannou slammed Turkey, saying “once again it completely distorts reality in order to support its unilateral and unfounded claims.”
Earlier, in a statement, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic claimed that maritime search and rescue zones “are areas that serve to save human lives,” arguing that “these areas are not areas of sovereignty under international law.”
He also claimed that Greece’s claims of sovereignty over the maritime search and rescue zones are contrary to the SAR Convention.
Turkey, Papaioannou stressed, is trying to equate a bilateral MoU, which was concluded with full respect for international law and international rules, with unsubstantiated and illegal unilateral claims that violate basic concepts of international law.
He also took aim at Ankara for instrumentalizing the migration issue, putting human lives at risk on a daily basis, and of falsely accusing Greece, which is “making every possible effort to protect lives at sea.”
This was made clear, he added, by the signing of the MoU by Greece and Egypt. “We reject in their entirety the unfounded Turkish allegations,” he concluded.
