Mavi Boncuk |
Turkey Is Not the Aggressor in Dispute With Greece by Amb Serdar Kilic WSJ 9/25/20
Regarding your editorial “Showdown in the Mediterranean: Two NATO allies could go to war over a maritime dispute” (Sept. 10): The narrative “tensions over energy” is, as the writers allude, often covered with excruciating oversimplification. The truth is far more complicated.
Turkey is not the aggressor here, but the one constantly struggling against those who aim to disregard and undermine her natural rights. In this context, unilateral actions and the maximalist claims of Greece and the Greek Cypriot Administration (GCs) in the Eastern Mediterranean should be taken into due account. Declaring exclusive economic zones, issuing drilling licenses, attempting to seize revenue, or forming multilateral initiatives in total disregard of Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots’ (TCs) rights have led to the prevailing tensions.
Attempts toward excluding Turkey, which has the longest coastline in the region, are ill-advised and unacceptable. Turkey will continue to firmly defend her legitimate sovereign rights in the region, particularly within the Turkish continental shelf, which was declared 16 years ago.
The TCs, as co-owners of the island, have equal rights along with the GCs over its resources. This is a principle-based on 1960 founding agreements on Cyprus and decades-long U.N. processes. Establishing an equitable revenue-sharing mechanism, as proposed by the TCs most recently in 2019, should constitute not only a starting point but also a resolution to current problems in the region.
Turkey is not infringing on anyone else’s share and will not let anyone infringe on her legitimate fair share. Regional peace and stability necessitate the international community (and the U.S.) to act impartially. Promoting a prejudiced discourse, which Greece and the GCs boast about, will never serve that end.
Serdar Kilic
Washington
Mr. Kilic is Turkey’s ambassador to the U.S.
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