No exploratory talks as long as Oruc Reis remains within Greek continental shelf, Petsas says

Government spokesperson Stelios Petsas reiterated on Thursday that exploratory talks with Turkey cannot be held under a regime of threats and blackmail. "There can be no exploratory talks as long as the Oruc Reis remains within the Greek continental shelf. Turkey can not pre-empt the discussion with a research vessel in the area that we are supposed to delineate. Greece confidently insists on diplomacy and continues its efforts to strengthen its strategic alliances. Our positions are already being adopted, not only by the EU but also by the United States, which has abandoned the tactic of equal distances and has denounced Turkey for unilaterally stoking tension in the region, calling on Ankara to end this pre-planned provocation and immediately begin exploratory talks with Greece."

He said, however, that "at the same time, Greece is doing on an operational level what it did the first time the Oruc Reis came out, what it should do. The armed forces are acting in the framework of their mission to defend the nation's interests. They have proven many times this year that they are capable of efficiently doing their job."