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Defense Min. on Greek-Turkish relations: Keeping communications channels open

Featured Defense Min. on Greek-Turkish relations: Keeping communications channels open

There may be room for collaborating with Turkey on managing the migration issue, National Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos told ERA radio on Thurday, "but not under the current situation, with rising inflows and a relative indifference by Turkey," especially the Turkish Coast Guard.

The minister said that a stricter plan to monitor the border crossings in Evros prefecture will likely be announced tomorrow. The plan will also come after stricter border controls by the EU service Frontex kicked in on Dec. 4.
Panagiotopoulos's statements came after on Wednesday's meeting between the leaders of Greece and Turkey on the sidelines of the NATO meeting in Britain, which he attended.

Both Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan understand each other's position, having "sat down for talks several times," he said, while he predicted that the controversial Turkey-Libya memorandum of understanding (MoU) on maritime zone delimitation "will not have a long future." (In comments earlier on Thursday, Greek diplomats said the text obviously contravened the Law of the Sea.) 

In another interview the same day to ANT1 TV station, Panagiotopoulos spoke of the Confidence-Building Measures (CBM), and whether they were suspended or not. As the minister said, "There was a misunderstanding. There are various leaks from the Ministry of National Defense, but the essence is that what happened with the CBM is that we were not in a hurry (...)" in setting dates to begin the talks. "This did not mean we decided not to have CBM. We shall look at dates, evaluate the conditions, and decide. As a channel of communications, however, I believe it must remain open even at times of tension," he clarified.

From that point on, he noted if there is goodwill, there will be progress. "We will be prepared for all options, at all levels," Panagiotopoulos said.

Additionally, he said about the MoU that even if Turkish parliament approves it, a Libyan parliamentary vote "is very difficult if not impossible, as this Libyan government does not have the political authorizatopm for such steps."