4 yıl önce

Turkey: Maritime zone deal with Egypt possible

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says Ankara welcomes Egypt’s respect for its continental shelf in the eastern Mediterranean.

AFP

Turkish FM Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks during a joint press conference with his Georgian counterpart in Ankara on March 3, 2021.

Turkey could sign an agreement with Egypt after negotiating maritime jurisdictions, the Turkish foreign minister has said.

"Depending on the course of our relations, we could also sign an agreement with Egypt by negotiating maritime jurisdictions," Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday in a joint news conference with Georgian counterpart Davit Zalkaliani in Ankara, the Turkish capital.

When Egypt signed an agreement with Greece on the boundaries in eastern Mediterranean, it respected Turkey's southern borders of the continental shelf, Cavusoglu said.

"Egypt continues carrying out its activities like seismic exploration and licensing within its continental shelf. In doing so, it continues to respect our continental shelf. We welcome this positively," he stressed.

On Turkey's new human rights roadmap revealed Tuesday, Cavusoglu said, "It will boost our relations with the EU institutions while expanding the fundamental rights and freedoms."

Turkey offers help to Greece after earthquake

Expressing solidarity with Greece, Cavusoglu offered help to his Greek counterpart after a strong earthquake rocked the country, diplomatic sources said.

Speaking to Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias by phone, Cavusoglu said Turkey is ready to help Greece in case of need, added the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Cavusoglu made the phone call during his meeting with Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani in Ankara.

A 5.9 magnitude earthquake hit the northwest of the Greek city of Larissa just before 12:16 pm local time (1016 GMT) on Wednesday.

The quake’s epicentre was northwest of Larissa, Greece’s fifth-most populous city, according to the Institute of Geodynamics in the capital Athens.

No injuries or damage have been reported from the region so far.