Turkey calls on Greece to abide by int'l law

ANKARA

Turkey's National Security Council on Tuesday called on Greece to act in line with good neighborly relations and abide by international law, instead of stepping up its policies against Ankara.

In a three-hour meeting chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the capital Ankara, senior Turkish officials discussed foreign policy, terrorism, and regional developments, said a council statement.

Greek human rights violations against its Turkish minority and irregular migrants were among issues tackled at the meeting, according to the statement following the meeting held in the presidential complex.

On the crisis in the Eastern Mediterranean, it said countries from outside the region should take a neutral position and a common approach protecting mutual rights and benefits.

Turkey, which has the longest continental coastline in the Eastern Mediterranean, has rejected the maritime boundary claims by Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration, stressing that those excessive claims violate the sovereign rights of Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots.

Ankara last year sent several drillships to explore for energy in the Eastern Mediterranean, asserting its rights in the region, as well as those of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

Turkish leaders have repeatedly stressed that Ankara is in favor of resolving outstanding problems in the region through international law, good neighborly relations, dialogue, and negotiations.

On the issue of Cyprus, the security council underlined the indispensable need for a permanent and fair resolution based on two independent states to be put on the agenda, adding that the present nearly-half-a-century-old approach that ignored the existence of Turkish Cypriots on the island had been fruitless.