Venizelos: Turkey's violations of Cypriot EEZ create a new crisis

Government Vice-President and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos on Tuesday, 4/11/2014, speaking in the Parliament expressed his concern over Turkey's recent…

"This flagrant violation of the international law is creating yet another front, another crisis, in the already

turbulent region, at a time when the Alliance and the international community are and must be focused on the very serious crises," Venizelos stated in a meeting to the Meeting of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s Special Group for the Mediterranean and Middle East and the Sub-Committee on Partnerships.

Regarding the initiative of a trilateral cooperation of Greece, Cyprus and Egypt, he said that it is in the framework of enhancing the Mediterranean Dialogue, aiming not only at synergies in energy, tourism, transport, but also at increasing cooperation in the wider area for stability, security and prosperity of nations.

He confirmed the support for the Euro-Atlantic integration of the Western Balkans, stressing that the condition set at the NATO summit in 2008 on the accession of FYROM which was also reaffirmed in subsequent summits, still applies: The need to first find a solution to the dispute for the name, in a mutually acceptable manner, and according to the United Nations process.

Regarding Ukraine, Venizelos said the Greek government has a strong interest in the stabilization of the situation and the solution of the crisis by political means and open channels to Russia, which, as he underlined, instead of being part of the problem must become part of the solution. As allies, we will do everything to avoid new dividing lines in Europe, Venizelos said.

Referring to the so-called Islamic State, he said that it is a global terrorist threat which must be directly addressed while noting the humanitarian crisis triggered by its attacks that have also affected Greece due to the major migratory pressures.

Greece participates in the international coalition to address the Islamic State, the Foreign minister said, stressing the need for making good use of the Mediterranean Dialogue.

In this environment, Venizelos said that the NATO's role and missions are more crucial than ever and expressed Greece's support to the decisions of the summit of Wales to establish a Readiness Action Plan in order to deal with the aforementioned threats.