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Παρασκευή, 02 Δεκεμβρίου 2016 16:33

Athens: Turkey needs to decide whether or not it respects int'l law

A Greek foreign ministry spokesperson on Friday responded to the latest provocation emanating from official Ankara, as Turkish leadership has unveiled an old-styled “nationalist card” in its policy mix over the recent period on practically every foreign policy front – from Syria, to the Aegean and vis-à-vis the European Union.

A Greek foreign ministry spokesperson on Friday responded to the latest provocation emanating from official Ankara, as Turkish leadership has unveiled an old-styled “nationalist card” in its policy mix over the recent period on practically every foreign policy front – from Syria, to the Aegean and vis-à-vis the European Union.

“The public reiteration of a legally groundless position does not make that position any less unsound, nor can it lend it any legal standing,” spokesman Stratos Efthymiou said, in reply to press questions.

"The legal status in the Aegean has been clarified explicitly in the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, the Italian-Turkish Convention and Protocol of 1932, and the 1947 Treaty of Paris, which clearly determine Greece’s sovereignty over the islands and islets of the Aegean, including Imia.

"Turkey needs to decide whether or not it respects international law, international conventions and agreements. It needs to make clear whether it perceives that international law stands above domestic expediencies.”