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Athens will not tolerate Ankara’s ‘threats of war,’ says Greek foreign minister

"For us, it is self-evident that there should be a stop to the drilling," the Greek defence minister  said, referring to Turkey’s activity in the waters.

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Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias on Monday addressed Ankara over what Athens is calling increasingly aggressive tactics in the region, Greek newspaper Kathimerini reported.

“Greece does not tolerate threats of war,” Dendias said while speaking ahead of a vote of confidence in Parliament on Monday. “It’s guide is respect for international law.”

Tensions have been soaring between Turkey on one side and Greek Cyprus and Greece on the other over drilling rights in the Eastern Mediterranean. Nicosia and Athens disagree with Ankara’s claims regarding drilling rights in the region. Turkey, the only nation to recognise Northern Cyprus, maintains that attempts by Cyprus to conduct gas exploration are a violation of the rights of the Turkish part of the divided island.

“For us, it is self-evident that there should be a stop to the drilling,” the Greek defence minister  said, referring to Turkey’s activity in the waters.

Turkey currently has two vessels in the region – the Fatih and the Yavuz – which are drilling in the seas around the island and announced plans to dispatch more.

The European Union Foreign Affairs Council last Monday slapped sanctions on Turkey for what it called illegal drilling in the Republic of Cyprus’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Ankara does not recognise the Cypriot EEZ, and claims some parts of it lie on its own continental shelf.

Source: Ahval

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