Prokopis Pavlopoulos: Turkey defiantly disregards international and European law

Speaking about the book by Professor and former minister Mr. Panagiotis Roumeliotis, “The Fragmentation of the World” (published by Livanis) on October 17, 2024, alongside Evangelos Venizelos, Michalis Sallas, and Dimitris Konstas, the former President of the Hellenic Republic, Academic and Honorary Professor of the Law School of the University of Athens, Mr. Prokopios Pavlopoulos, emphasized, specifically regarding Greek-Turkish relations, the following among other points:

A. Exploiting, without concealment, the effects of this “fragmentation” in our wider region, due to the dangerous inertia of the International Community and the European Union, Turkey once again demonstrates blatant disregard for International and European Law, directly targeting the national sovereignty of both Greece and Cyprus. This becomes more than evident if we consider Turkey’s very recent stance concerning:

1. 1. Firstly, the statements by Tayyip Erdogan at the UN General Assembly—and shortly afterward, the outrageous behavior of his “mouthpiece,” Turkish Cypriot leader Tatar, in front of the UN Secretary-General—where he spoke unhesitatingly about “two states” in suffering Cyprus. Essentially, this refers to the partition of Cyprus, which is clearly and unequivocally contrary to every notion of International Law as well as to the content of numerous UN Security Council resolutions. Furthermore, it contradicts every concept of European Law, given that the Republic of Cyprus is a full member state of the European Union and its “hard core,” the Eurozone.
2. 2. Secondly, the recent statements by “circles” of the Turkish government ahead of the upcoming meeting between the Foreign Ministers of Greece and Turkey. According to these statements—which represent Turkey’s longstanding position, as it consistently undermines any substantive exploratory talks from the outset—Turkey completely rejects Greece’s stance on the existence of only one dispute between the two countries, that being the delimitation of the island continental shelf and the corresponding Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean. On the contrary, Turkey claims there is a so-called “package” of disputes that even touch upon the core of Greece’s national sovereignty, such as its territorial waters, borders, and the defensive fortification of its islands.

B. The International Community—primarily the UN—and the European Union must finally recognize that Turkey adopts a broader attitude of mockery and disdain toward them. This behavior also includes NATO, which tolerates actions by Turkey that blatantly violate key provisions of its Charter. These actions ultimately strike at the Alliance, pushing it to the verge of disintegration.

1. 1. How else can one interpret Turkey’s stance regarding the war and Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine? Turkey, driven solely by its economic and geostrategic interests, has become an obvious “crutch ally” of Russia and Putin. How else can one also interpret Turkey’s stance, which NATO unfortunately allows, as it “sits on two stools” while openly planning, by its own admission, to join BRICS? For which other NATO member state would the Alliance tolerate such an unthinkable stance?
2. 2. In the face of this extremely dangerous challenge directed against them, Greece and Cyprus, with steadfast unity, must firmly warn the International Community and the European Union that they will no longer tolerate Turkey’s threats or the international and European inaction. They are prepared to act with all legal means, including the use of veto power in decision-making regarding sanctions against other states, if the International Community and the European Union continue to refuse to impose equivalent sanctions on Turkey. Particularly, sanctions related to Turkey’s fifty-year-long occupation—an outrageous violation of International and European Law—of one-third of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus.”

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