Greece’s EEZ delimitation agreements with Italy and Egypt are a sign that a window for discussion could open between Athens and Ankara in the near future, possibly after elections, he said yesterday during a discussion at the Balkans and Black Sea Forum 2022 conference, Ambassador Turkey Burak Ozugergin. The position of Mr. Ozugergin, who will be replaced next month by Tsagatai Erziges, was made in response to a question addressed to him by Evangelos Kalpadakis, diplomatic adviser to the President of SYRIZA. Mr. Ozugergin spoke about the need to promote energy security, but not through a zero-sum policy, and Mr. Kalpadakis noted that Turkey is implementing this policy through its Blue Home strategy, the signing of the Turkish-Libyan memorandum and its investigations. . Orukh races” in 2020.

The Turkish diplomat also stated that “the only way to overcome this obstacle (meaning demarcation) is to talk to each other. And I know the Greek side is allergic to talks on issues of sovereignty. I understand it. But if Greece has finally “broke the chains” and is talking to the Italians and Egyptians, and if it has now gone beyond the framework of the positions that created the problem with Turkey in the first place, then maybe in the future – after the elections or soon enough – we can find the courage to talk about our problems.” Mr. Ozugergin also noted that “each country did what it had to do. Frankly, I don’t believe that one side has to lose for the other to win. If there was an Egyptian ambassador, I would say the same to him.I think there is hope for a proper demarcation in the Eastern Mediterranean.The agreements concluded by Greece with Italy and Egypt can be used in our case “with appropriate modifications. If the tones are lowered. If not talking with “balconies”, but at the table.

“The agreement that Greece has concluded with Italy and Egypt on the delimitation of the EEZ can be used in our case,” Burak Ozugergin stressed.

Mr. Ozugergin’s statements come at a time of general rhetorical tension, raising the question of whether they reflect deep-seated opinion in Ankara or simply personal comments from a Turkish diplomat. In any case, Mr. Ozugergin’s statement reflects a view that has also been expressed by Turkish diplomats in the recent past. That is, in the EEZ delimitations with Italy and Egypt, Athens received reduced influence of some Greek islands, so they cannot claim full influence for those island entities that are opposite Turkey.

However, in a more general context, Mr. Ozugergin also referred to Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s earlier proposal for a conference on the Eastern Mediterranean as an “inclusive” idea, noting, however, that the 3+1 scheme (Greece, Israel, Cyprus and the United States) “does not doesn’t work because it left us out.”