NO. 38

WASHINGTON, DC — The American Hellenic Institute (AHI) issued the following statement:

AHI applauds the joint ministerial meeting between the United States, Greece, Republic of Cyprus, and Israel on energy cooperation held August 7, 2019, in Athens, Greece, where U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Francis Fannon, and each of the three countries’ energy ministers, participated.  It is another example of the progress being made by the four countries across several sectors to strive for a shared commitment to peace, stability, and economic development in the region.

AHI welcomes the Minsters’ and the United States’ “strong support for sovereign states’ rights,” their reiterated “full support and solidary” for the Republic of Cyprus to develop energy resources within its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and their added “concern” with provocations in the Eastern Mediterranean, as communicated in their joint statement.  However, it must be made clear that Turkey is the perpetrator of these provocations in the Eastern Mediterranean that threaten the peace, security, and economic development the four countries are committed to achieving.  Turkey is a destabilizing force in the region by way of its gunboat diplomacy and gross violation of the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus and its ceaseless violations of NATO ally Greece’s airspace and seaways, including threats to Greece’s own exclusive economic zone near Kastellorizo.  Turkey must be called out for its blatant violations of the rule of law in future joint statements.