Speaking about the book by Professor and former Minister Mr. Panagiotis Roumeliotis “The Fragmentation of the World” (published by Lebanon), on October 17, 2024 – together with Mr. Evangelos Venizelos, Michalis Salla and Dimitris Konstas – the former President of the Republic, Academic and Honorary Professor of the Faculty of Law of the Greek Academy of Sciences, Mr. Procopius Pavlopoulos emphasized, referring specifically to Greek-Turkish relations, among others the following:
“ONE. Exploiting, undisclosed, the effects of this “fragmentation” on our wider region due to the dangerous inaction of the International Community and the European Union, Turkey makes, once again, a true demonstration of defiant disregard for International and European Law , directly targeting the National Sovereignty of Greece, as well as Cyprus. This becomes more than obvious, if we reflect on Turkey’s very recent attitude towards:
1. Firstly, with Tayyip Erdogan’s statements at the UN General Assembly – and with the somewhat later behavior of his “spokesperson”, a Turkish Cypriot Tatar, even before the Secretary General. of the UN – where he spoke, without hesitation, of “two states” in Martyriki Cyprus. This is essentially for the division of Cyprus, which is clearly and unequivocally contrary to both all concepts of International Law and the content of a series of Security Council decisions. But also in every sense of European Law, given that the Republic of Cyprus is a full Member State of the European Union and its “hard core”, the eurozone.
2. Secondly, with yesterday’s statements about “circles” by the Turkish government, in view of the upcoming meeting of the Greek and Turkish Foreign Ministers. According to these statements – which, after all, constitute the permanent position of Turkey, which in any case always “torpedoes” from the preamble any initiation of substantial exploratory contacts – Greece’s position regarding a single dispute cannot, in any way , be accepted between it and Peru. Namely the delimitation of the Island Platform and the corresponding EEZ in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean. On the contrary, there is, allegedly, a “package” of disputes, which “touches” even the hard core of Greek National Sovereignty. BC its Aegial Belt, its borders, the defensive armor of its Islands, etc.
B. The International Community – and especially the UN – and the European Union must finally understand that Turkey is adopting a more general attitude of insult and contempt towards them. A behavior that also includes NATO, which tolerates actions that are grossly contrary to the main provisions of its Statute. Actions that ended up putting the Alliance on the verge of “operating” its dissolution.
1. How else can Türkiye’s position regarding the war and Russia’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine be interpreted? Where, with only its economic and geostrategic interests in mind, did Turkey turn into a very visible “allied crutch” of Russia and Putin? And how else can Turkey’s attitude be interpreted, in which NATO unfortunately allows it to “walk in two boats” by planning, as it itself admits, to join the BRICS? Because what other NATO Member State would tolerate such an unthinkable attitude?
2. Faced with this extremely dangerous challenge facing them, Greece and Cyprus, in conditions of unity,
they must effectively warn the International Community and the European Union that they will not, for their part, tolerate further threats from Turkey, as well as international and European inaction. And they are willing to do this by any legal means. Even with a veto on its part when making decisions to impose sanctions on other States, as long as the International Community and the European Union continue to refuse to impose similar sanctions against Turkey. And mainly sanctions against him because for fifty years he possessed – in a provocative, at least, violation of International and European Law – a third of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus.”