EU Vice President expressed Full solidarity with Greece, calling Turkey for immediate de-escalation

Josep Borrell, EU Vice President and High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, expressed full solidarity with Greece and Cyprus, following an extraordinary Foreign Affairs Council meeting on Friday afternoon.

In a tweet following the meeting, the EU's head of diplomacy wrote, "Full solidarity w/ Greece & Cyprus; calling Turkey for immediate de-escalation and re-engaging in dialogue."

The online meeting's agenda included the escalation of tension in the East Mediterranean following Turkish provocations, among other issues.

An EU External Action statement late on Friday night in Brussels said the outcome could be summarized in three words, "solidarity, de-escalation, and dialogue".

It added that the foreign ministers "reaffirmed the EU’s full solidarity with Greece and Cyprus. They reiterated that sovereign rights of EU member states must be respected. They recalled EU common positions and the previous Council conclusions of 22 March 2018 and June, July, October, December 2019, in addition to the statement on the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean of 15 May 2020." 

A deteriorating relationship with Turkey "is having far-reaching strategic consequences for the entire EU, well beyond the Eastern Mediterranean," the ministers noted, while they referred to the dispatch of 'Oruc Reis' research ship and other naval mobilizations within the continental shelf waters of Greece as actions that "do not contribute to finding any solutions. On the contrary, they will lead to greater antagonism and distrust. They create a heightened risk of dangerous incidents."

They asked for an immediate de-escalation by Turkey as "crucial", and underlined "the importance they attach to relations with Turkey. They underlined that issues related to delimitation of maritime boundaries and exploitation of resources therein can only be addressed through dialogue and negotiation, in good faith, in accordance with international law and in pursuit of the principle of good neighbourly relations, and not through unilateral actions and the mobilisation of naval forces."

The ministers, the statement said, urged Borrell to help "re-establish dialogue and facilitate re-engagement with Turkey" while also "prepar(ing) options on further appropriate measures in case tensions do not abate."

A broader discussion about relations with Turkey will be held later in August, at the Gymnich - the informal EU foreign ministers' meeting - it added, finally.