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Josep Borrell, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of European Union (EU) has sent a letter to Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs saying that Turkey’s overflights above Greek regions only increases tensions, Greek newspaper Kathimerini reported.
Kathimerini stated that Borrell sent the letter as a reply to correspondance sent by Çavuşoğlu on 1 September addressing Turkey’s stance on the Aegean crisis.
Based on diplomatic sources that Kathimerini published, Borrell claimed that Ankara’s actions only escalate the crisis with Greece, rather than moving towards de-escalation.
Borrell’s letter added that questioning Greece’s indisputable sovereignty over the Aegean islands, and the increase in hostile rhetoric towards Greece did not reduce the tension, but only increased it.
“Demarcation of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the continental sea shelf must be done through good faith dialogue, with full respect for International Law and the UN Convention on the International Law of the Sea,” the letter said.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has recently threatened Greece many times, recently even saying “We can go there, one night, suddenly”, and “the price will be heavy”.
Interviewed about Turkey’s escalation of threats against Greece, Daniel Pipes, president of the Middle East Forum, had said:
“Any hostile action by Erdoğan versus Greece would not only be a catastrophe in itself but would severely damage the united front against the Russian invasion. NATO needs to warn Erdoğan loud and clear that it will stand with Greece against Turkey just as it stands with Ukraine against Russia.
In his 1 September letter, Çavuşoğlu said that by laying claim to a 10-mile deep airspace while its Aegean maritime boundaries only extended six miles, Greece had become “the only country in the world whose maritime borders and airspace do not match up and are not recognised by any other country.”
