Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias called the capture of two Greek servicemen nearly two months ago, after allegedly straying over the Turkish border, an “unprecedented incident … whereby two officers of a NATO army are arrested by another NATO army because they intruded 20 meters (into the other’s territory)”.
In a wide-ranging interview aired in the early morning hours on Wednesday by the Athens-based Skai broadcaster, Kotzias also dismissed repeated efforts by official Ankara to link the fate of the two Greek soldiers with eight Turkish servicemen who have requested political asylum in Greece since July 2016.
“We’ve nearly reached two months now (since the Greek pair was arrested) and still no charges have been filed,” he said.
In pointing to one of the more provocative incidents in the eastern Aegean over recent months, the ramming of a Greek coast guard patrol boat by a larger Turkish cutter, Kotzias said unforeseen consequences could have arisen if the Greek side hadn’t handled the situation calmly.
Asked about an incident allegedly involving a Turkish military helicopter that approached a small but garrisoned islet (Ro) near the remote southeastern Aegean isle of Kastellorizo in the middle of the night last month, and the subsequent warning shots fired by national guardsmen to ward off the aircraft, Kotzias first replied that “when you shoot you show decisiveness.”
He quickly added, however, “you can shoot at an object that you see, or at a sound you hear when you can’t see it due to weather conditions … there is no evidence on exactly where the helicopter was … My view of foreign policy is that if I want to make things more ‘serious’ I must have already taken a decision on how and to what extent I want to do this.
“… If Turkey has decided to provoke, then I don’t necessarily have to answer its provocations. In other words, I do not believe it is wise, especially now that Turkey is in the midst of an election campaign, to have to answer (provocations) every day and appear to take them seriously.”
In touching on increased Turkish aggressiveness in the eastern Mediterranean, and specifically in Cyprus’ EEZ, Kotzias assessed that Ankara is bothered by the fact that undersea energy deposits have been found that are not under its control, “their appetite has been wetted; their appetite must be cut”.
In terms of standing criticism by the Turkish Cypriot side that the Republic of Cyprus will reap the benefits from natgas deposits solely for Greek Cypriots, Kotzias said the internationally recognized Cyprus government wants to establish a common fund for future revenues “to be used throughout the island. In the future, I am not saying now. But this will be decided by the Cyprus government”.
On a separate foreign policy front, he said it was up to the Skopje government to accept an “erga omnes” solution for the “name issue” still separating Greece with its northern neighbor, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (fYRoM). Nevertheless, he said he believes there is not enough time until June for a solution to be achieved.
He also insisted that a constitutional revision in fYRoM was the best way to solidify any solution, one that would even extend protection to the current members of the Zaev coalition government.
“Experience has shown that if this government changes, the next one will send (PM Zoran) Zaev to jail, claiming he violated the constitution by accepting an international name that is not foreseen nor allowed by the constitution (in fYRom).”
