“We want the wealth of the Aegean to be a resource for both sides…on a fair basis,” Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said, leaving open the possibility of extending the agreed moratorium on military exercises in the Aegean from May. before and in October instead of the period June – September.

“We are waiting with the hope that (ss: the Greeks) will find the right path and take the right position” so that we can “solve our problems through negotiations,” the Turkish minister continued, recalling that Ankara will not allow either another. she calls her “rights” violated in Greek-Turkish and Cypriot.

“These issues between Turkey and Greece in the Aegean cannot be resolved immediately. There are economic, historical, political, legal, military dimensions,” H. Akar said, referring to the Confidence Building Measures and characterizing the recent Greek-Turkish meetings held in their context as “very productive”.

Akar’s statements

“… Elections certainly have an impact now. However, we continue negotiations with the Minister of Defense of our distinguished colleague of Greece. There was a train accident there, and of course this is a source of sadness for us. We expressed our condolences to our colleagues. We had a large-scale earthquake here, and they gave us the necessary courtesy of condolences. Then they came to Hatay. We met there, talked, exchanged information. We also had the opportunity to discuss other issues between us.

Our wish, as we have always said, is that the wealth of the Aegean be a resource for both sides. The inhabitants of both sides rightly benefit from the wealth of the Aegean. Also continue our cooperation in many other areas, especially in the field of tourism. We have a moratorium that was introduced in 1988. This means: from June 15 to September 15, let’s not conduct exercises or hostilities, let’s not negatively affect tourism. In fact, during the negotiations we had there (s.s.: Hatay), we talked about extending it, starting from May instead of June and ending in October instead of September.

For our part, we have stated that we are ready and supportive in this matter and that our only goal is to live in peace and tranquility based on mutual respect. We have repeatedly said that we want to solve our problems through negotiations, within the framework of international law, within the framework of good neighborly relations.

From this point of view, our neighbor has some hesitation. We are waiting with the hope that they will find the right path and come to the right place in this regard. As we always say, this is not [επιτρέψουμε να] violate our rights and the rights of our Cypriot brothers, especially in Cyprus. At the same time, we will not accept any fait accompli. Therefore, our statements should not be taken as a threat. It’s not a threat. Since saying “let’s sit down and talk” is not a weakness, this should be well understood. Let’s talk like two civilized countries and solve the problem together.

We have confidence building measures. This is something that has been created over the years. We talked to our interlocutors at the HPP. At that time, they said that our GITA and theirs have a different status, “these are political issues, we cannot solve them,” they said. Then he became a minister, we also became ministers. And then we said, “Look, now that this is the case, let’s do it.”

These problems between Turkey and Greece in the Aegean and other problems cannot be solved immediately. There are economic, historical, political, legal, military dimensions. Therefore, they should be discussed by experts first. In this sense, we said: “How many people know better? 10 – 20 people. Bring them and we will. Let them sit and work and process problems and then bring them to us. Then we decide: They said well. We held three such meetings on the topic of “Confidence Building Measures”. Two in Athens, one in Ankara… Now it’s Ankara’s turn.

We said to continue this scheme, there is nothing wrong with that. Let’s keep it closed to the press, let’s not make statements, let’s not share, etc… it’s better that way. We just need to move towards an agreement. Let the experts speak.

In fact, these three meetings were very productive. Everyone got to know each other, their approaches to the problem, their points of view, their styles of solving, their cultural views, their psychology began to be revealed. Now we are waiting for the delegation of our interlocutors to arrive in Turkey after the elections…“.