Cyprus Mail 10 June 2020 - by Andria Kades
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias with his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio after signing the agreement on Tuesday
Cyprus on Wednesday hailed the agreement between Greece and Italy earlier this week for the delimitation of their maritime zones.
Ruling Disy said the agreement “sends a strong political message that in the Mediterranean, violations of international conventions will not be tolerated”. The party added that all legal tools have been utilised to create mutually beneficial agreements for all parties involved.
Solidarity Movement said it was Greece’s first major and practical reaction after years of Turkey’s provocations.
It outlined Athens needed to finally respond to Nicosia’s calls for delimitation of the EEZ between Greece and Cyprus. The delimitation of Egypt’s and Greece’s will be decisive, Solidarity Movement said.
In an interview with Greek broadcaster Open TV on Tuesday, Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis stressed that one of the key points of the agreement lies in the fact that it recognises the island’s right to possess maritime zones, as defined by the law of the sea.
According to Lakkotrypis, this provision “is in stark contrast to Turkey’s groundless rhetoric, which suggests that the islands do not have the right to a Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)”.
Nonetheless, the minister said he did not believe the agreement between Greece and Italy would prevent Turkey from continuing its provocations in Cyprus’ EEZ.
“We have chosen the diplomatic path to address this challenge. In coordination with the Greek government, we are trying within the EU to succeed decisions that will have a significant cost for Turkey.”
Meanwhile, he underlined that Cyprus has called on Turkey for the delimitation of maritime zones between the two countries.
