With friends like these who needs enemies! - Minutes from the meeting of the EU Foreign Ministers

What was said at the emergency EU Foreign Affairs Council (with the participation of foreign ministers) at a teleconference on 14 August shows that things are not going well at all. The Greek minister spoke first. He referred to the history of the crisis, stressing the risk of an accident due to the over-concentration of warships in the sea area where the Oruc Reis is sailing.

He even submitted photos and blueprints from the attempt of the Turkish frigate Kemal Reis to ram the Greek frigate "Lemnos". The material caused a stir among his counterparts, but, as it turned out, had little effect on their stance in the Council, as each minister participated in the teleconference with a defined political line.

Greek Foreign Minister Dendias, having in mind the dissatisfaction of Berlin, said that the Greek-Egyptian agreement on the partial demarcation of the EEZ (west of the 28th meridian) is the result of bilateral negotiations that began about 15 years ago. He underlined, in fact, that the agreement was made on the basis of International Law, a fact that confirms once again that Greece always acts in accordance with International Law, being a model European country.

Germany on Turkey's side
After the Greek minister, the German minister spoke, who tried to “force land” the Greek side. He described the announcement of the signing of the Greek-Egyptian agreement as a "frustrating experience" noting it took place "24 hours before the start of the talks between Greece and Turkey, which the German presidency had achiWith such partners you need no enemies! - Minutes from the meeting of the EU Foreign Miniseved"

He did not fail to speak of "full solidarity" with Greece and the Republic of Cyprus, but hastened to get "to the nitty-gritty", demanding an end to "the vicious cycle of escalation and militarization". At this point it is crucial to decipher the phrase of the head of German diplomacy Maas. As he has made clear, the term "escalation" refers to the actions of Turkey and the term "militarization" refers to the actions of Greece.

In this way Berlin essentially attempts to equate the perpetrator with the victim, holding both sides co-responsible for the tension. In other words, Greece's attempt to prevent the violation of its potential (because the EEZ is not yet delimited) sovereign rights is equated with Turkish piracy.

Read the rest of the revealing article at slpress.gr