Prokopis Pavlopoulos: Greece’s Fearless Stand Against Turkey’s Territorial Ambitions with “Molon Lave”

A. The conditions of the dialogue with Turkey

The dialogue with Turkey is always “welcome“, it would be wrong to exclude it from the preamble and completely. But especially with Turkey, it would also be a mistake to have a dialogue without being fully aware with whom “interlocutor» you are chosen.

1. And international experience, for years now, has shown that as “interlocutor» in the field of International Relations, Turkey also has the following characteristics:

a) First, it is completely unreliable. Something that applies not only to Greece but also internationally, primarily within NATO, where it often behaves as unarmed or even manifestly “solvent» item. A tangible sample of writing is Turkey’s stance on Russia’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine and the overt “ambiguous» her role.

b) Secondly, Turkey has against Greece and Cyprus “long-term visions“, in terms of which it follows the tactic not so much of the “hot episodes“, but her “promotion” of its positions subcutaneously at the level of “negotiations». And these aspirations of Turkey directly concern Cyprus, the Aegean and Thrace, as can be seen from Erdogan’s recent statements.

c) And, thirdly, Turkey through the “negotiations” he wants to bring us back to the era of 1997-1999, when due to the complacency of the then Government he had “succeeds” to accept on our behalf the positions that allowed her to speak about “gray zones” in the Aegean and to develop the “rhetoric” of “Blue Homeland». Because then, on the one hand, with the joint announcement “Simitis-Demirel” in the context of NATO, during the session of 8.7.1997, in Madrid, the phraseology of “vital interests and interests of Turkey” in the Aegean. On the other hand, in the framework of the European Council, on 10-11.12.1999, in Helsinki, the relevant conclusions were accepted that between Greece and Turkey there are “border and other disputes“, deviating from our fixed position regarding one and only difference, the delimitation of the Insular Ice Shelf and the corresponding EEZ in the Southeast Mediterranean.

2. All these “intentions” of Turkey were later contradicted and flatly rejected by Greece, while during Erdoğan’s official visit to Athens, on 7.12.2017, the then Prime Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos made it clear that one, and only, difference exists between Greece and Turkey: The delimitation of the Island Shelf and the corresponding EEZ in the South-Eastern Mediterranean, according to “Law of the Sea» (1982 Montego Bay Convention). This Law, through the generally accepted rules of International Law it produces, also binds Turkey, even if the latter has not yet acceded to the aforementioned Convention.

B. The “red lines” regarding our National Issues

Regarding the “red lines” vis-à-vis Turkey regarding our National Issues, of course according to International and European Law, Mr. Pavlopoulos emphasized that Greece’s fixed positions, from which no retreat is understood and which prescribe all our tactics towards Turkey from there , are also the following:

1. There is no question of any negotiation of the rights of Greece included in the “narrow core” of her Sovereignty, not even referring them before the International Court of Justice in The Hague. And this is because the jurisdiction of this Court for such matters has been excluded, according to article 36 par. 2 of its Statute, by Greece with the Statement of the Foreign Ministry on 14.1.2015, which updated and supplemented the previous Statement of 1994. This means e.g. and that Greece can extend, unilaterally and without any negotiation or other similar procedure, its Aegialitis Zone to 12 N.M., when and where it deems appropriate, of course observing the rules of the aforementioned “Law of the Sea». So a discussion with Turkey can be held, as it was clarified, only for our one and only difference regarding the delimitation of the Island Shelf and the corresponding EEZ in the Southeast Mediterranean, of course before the International Court of Justice in The Hague and always on the basis of “Her right Sea». After all, this last issue does not concern “narrow core” of our Sovereignty but our Sovereign Rights, and this difference is extremely essential for the delimitation of the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
2. With the so-called “Turkish-Libyan memorandum” of November 2019, Turkey blatantly violates International Law and in particular the “Law of the Sea». As the European Union itself has not accepted, according to the European Council on 10-11.12.2019, the “memorandum» this is not just illegal but literally legally non-existent, so it does not produce, in any way, in practice legal results vis-à-vis third parties, therefore also vis-à-vis Greece. Greece must point this out everywhere and continuously. In addition, Greece must take all actions that prove in practice the “non-existent“of the above”memorandum“, a fact which – as Mr. Pavlopoulos had pointed out, explicitly and officially, as early as 2019-2020, as acting President of the Republic – imposes on our part the following:

a) Immediate extension of our Stomatitis Zone to 12 p.m. in the Southeast Mediterranean, and especially south of Crete, Rhodes, Karpathos, etc.

b) In addition to what was agreed with Egypt in the context of the relevant agreement on the EEZ between us, in August 2020, we must, according to “standard” of Law 4001/2011 (article 156), to “we preach» the EEZ that belongs to us in the Southeast Mediterranean, even if its final demarcation has not been done. This is absolutely not possible and permissible according to “Law of the Sea». Observing the proportions, we must do the same for our Ice Shelf there, for which the previous one is not even necessary”declaration». And this because according to “Law of the Sea“the Ice Shelf exists legally quasi”by default and automatically».

C. The conditions for resolving the Cyprus issue

Regarding the Cyprus Issue, Greece’s firm position is that this is not, in any way, “bilateral» issue with Turkey, as it wants to present it. It is par excellence an International and European issue, all the more so when the Republic of Cyprus is a full member state of the European Union and of “narrow core» of the Eurozone. Therefore, a fair and sustainable solution to the Cyprus Issue can only be understood on the basis of International and European Law, with observance of all, without exception, their conditions.

1. In fact, for a fair and sustainable solution to the Cyprus Issue, at least the following seven conditions must be met:

a) State at most Federal, excluding any form of Confederation. And this is because the Confederation has not existed for a long time, not even internationally. While – and this is the most important – it is not conceivable, according to European Law, a member state of the European Union in a confederal form.

b) State which is founded on the basis of the institutions of the Representative Democracy, which, among other things, guarantees and ensures the observance of all the Fundamental Rights of Man.

c) State with an international Legal Personality.

d) State with only one Citizenship.

e) A state that can fully exercise both its Sovereignty and its Sovereign Rights in general, according to International and European Law.

f) A state in which it is unthinkable to have occupation troops and guarantees of any third parties, especially when it comes to third countries that are not members of the European Union.

g) And a State to which all the legal owners of their properties will return, where there is Turkish occupation today, with the simultaneous departure of all those illegally settled there by Turkey”settlers».

2. To the International Community, and especially to the European Union, it must be made clear, from the side of Greece and Cyprus, that no more tolerance of the Turkish occupation in Cyprus is condoned, and indeed after a full fifty years. And this non-tolerance must be put into practice with strict sanctions against Turkey. Let us consider that severe sanctions have rightly been imposed – and will continue to be imposed as long as this continues – against Russia for its barbaric invasion of Ukraine. However, it is inconceivable that the same should not apply, especially from the European Union’s point of view, to Cyprus, a full member state of the European Union and of “narrow core» of the Eurozone. After all, Turkey’s invasion of Cyprus in 1974 was the internationally criminal “previous”, which Russia relied on to invade Ukraine. Greece and Cyprus must use this entirely fair argument and request, stressing that this will be pursued even with the promotion of “veto» to the competent bodies of the European Union, when and where needed.

D. Who “respects” and Turkey calculates in practice

Finally, it should be noted that Turkey “respects” and counts internationally only those who, having International and European Law – for the member states of the European Union, such as Greece and Cyprus – on their side, appear determined to prevent, by any legal means, in practice the her threats knowing her too “brazen” her logic. This is all the more true for our country, as we must know well, in addition to the absolute justice of our positions, that our Armed Forces have both the power and the mentality to neutralize any Turkish threat. And this: Turkey is fully aware of this superiority of our Armed Forces. That’s why he indulges in “food” public “demonstrations” of military force, which reach the limits of scurrilousness or even ridiculousness.

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