Following the provocative remarks recently by Turkey’s President questioning the Treaty of Lausanne concerning the sovereignty of Greek islands, the Greek Foreign Ministry has responded reminding the neighbouring country that the remarks are inconsistent with international law and incompatible with European values.
“It is obvious that the ruling and the opposition parties in Turkey are picking a fight over an issue that does not concern them.
Certain people in the neighbouring country wish to drag Turkey towards a path and an attitude that contradicts international law and is in no way compatible with that of a European country. Revisionist rationales, as is well known, have always led to negative paths and have always been defeated.
Last, let it be reminded that the only topic of exploratory contacts was and still is the delimitation of the continental shelf according to the provisions and the rules of international law,” concluded the statement from the Greek Foreign Ministry.
The announcement come after the recent rebuttal from the President of the Hellenic Republic, Prokopis Pavlopoulos who reminded Turkey that the Treaty of Lausanne is an integral part of international law, its compliance is mandatory and any breach results in the imposition of the envisaged by international law sanctions,
"Turkey must realize that full respect to international law is a conditio sine qua non of whether and to what extent a state deserves to be one of the democratically organized members of the International Community. And the Lausanne Treaty is an integral part of international law, therefore its introduction is mandatory and any breach results in the imposition of the envisaged by international law sanctions,” said Pavlopoulos.
