TOW-master should stay where he is and do good for his own people.
Athens making 'fatal mistake' for cooperating with France on East Med, Greek deputy says
BY DAILY SABAH
ISTANBUL
DIPLOMACY
SEP 07, 2020 9:38 AM GMT+3
In this photo provided by the Greek Defense Ministry, warships take part in a military exercise in Eastern Mediterranean sea, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020. (Greek Defense Ministry via AP)
AGreek Deputy criticized Greece for completely putting its trust in France, saying that the European country is only supporting Greece for its own interests in the Eastern Mediterranean, as she called Turkey a regional superpower.
“Nobody is coming to Greece because they love us. They are not dying for Greek interests,” Liana Kanelli, a member of the Greek Parliament for the Communist Party of Greece, told a live broadcast.
Calling Greece’s cooperation with France a “fatal mistake,” Kanelli, who is also a journalist, said some people chant in favor of Greece and France but they should remember former French President Giscard d’Estaing, who initially supported Greece’s entry into the European Union but then said Athens should be suspended from the union over its monetary policies.
D’Estaing had called Greece's adoption of the euro in 2001 a "mistake," as he claimed its leaders "neither wanted nor planned to follow eurozone policies" on limiting debt and deficits.
His comments echoed those of former prime minister Alain Juppe, a leading candidate for the French presidency in 2017, who said that Greece should be helped to leave the euro "without drama."
Referring to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as the strategic brain behind Turkey, who protects the country’s interests, Kalenni called Turkey a regional superpower.
Turkey and Greece have been at odds over numerous issues, but the issue of gas exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean has especially heightened tensions between the two neighbors.
Greece seeks to block Turkey's exploration of energy resources in the region, which Ankara says is well within its rights. Athens has attempted to restrict Turkey's maritime territory, trying to box it into its shores based on the matter of a number of small Greek islands' proximity to the Turkish coast.
Turkey has argued that the sides should instead sit down for dialogue to reach a win-win solution based on the fair sharing of resources.
Ankara argues that some of the blocks – particularly Block 4, 5, 6 and 7 – on which Greek Cypriots have commissioned international energy companies like the Italian ENI and French Total for exploration violate the country's 200-mile continental shelf as well as the 14-mile territorial waters of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which has been excluded from exploration efforts by the Greek administration in the south of the island.
France has deployed military jets to the Greek-administered side of Cyprus under the pretext that they are holding a drill with Greece and Italy, which Turkey says is against the 1960 treaties on Cyprus.
Athens has also announced that they will be purchasing jets and military equipment from France as part of a defense deal.
A Greek Deputy criticized Athens for completely putting its trust in France, saying that the European country is only supporting their nation for its own...
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