FM Dendias: Agreement with Egypt a major gain for Greece

Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias on Friday said the signing of the agreement establishing the maritime boundaries between Greece and Egypt was a national success and a major gain for Greece, in an interview with SKAI TV. He added that the specific agreement, as well as the agreement on the maritime zones with Italy, will soon be tabled in parliament for ratification.

Dendias said that Thursday's signing was the result of a lengthy process and hard work which had intensified in recent weeks. He noted that the delimitation of just a section of the two countries' potential EEZ was chosen because, at this time, it best served Greece's interests. "The partial delimitation does not leave anything out but resolves a problem in one area while the discussion continues so that it can be concluded at a later date," he explained.

"It is a fair and legal agreement and, very importantly, it also demonstrates in the clearest way to the international community just how illegal the Turkish-Libyan memorandum was," Dendias added.

The foreign minister underlined that Greece has clearly stated that it is ready to defend its positions before any international arbitration body, such as the International Court of Justice at The Hague. "If Turkey wishes, we are willing to discuss in the same conditions as existed for the Greek-Egyptian agreement," he noted.

Dendias repeated that Greece is ready to enter into dialogue with Turkey only for the sole existing issue that Greece recognises between the two countries, which is the delimitation of the continental shelf and maritime zones between them.