Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu attended the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Relations via a video conference and evaluated the current situation in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Çavuşoğlu underlined that the relations of the European Union and Turkey were not on the best of terms, however this should not stand in the way of establishing a sincere dialogue. Çavuşoğlu said ‘Turkey is ready to ease the tension and we believe we can carry out our relations with dialogue and cooperation’.

Minister Çavuşoğlu stated that Turkey’s strategy is two-dimensional; one is the definition of maritime zones based on International Law and the other is the protection of Turkish Cypriots and their rights. Çavuşoğlu pointed out that the current tension in the Eastern Mediterranean has been created by Greece and the Greek Cypriots who try to usurp the rights of Turkey and Turkish Cypriots.