Greek FM, Turkish MP clash over Cyprus in Parliament

 4 November 2014

A Turkish lawmaker on Tuesday said Turkey is operating "within its jurisdiction" in the eastern Mediterranean where it claims it is conducting seismic research, after Greece's Foreign Minister accused the country of causing unnecessary provocations in the region.
Speaking in the Greek Parliament during a meeting of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly for the Mediterranean and Middle East, Osman Askin Bak, a member of the governing AKP party said:
"In northern Cyprus there’s a licensed area for research and the Turkish navy is operating solely within its jurisdiction. Barbaros is conducting seismic research and has informed about this and there shouldn’t be any unilateral actions."
"The entire continental shelf of the island is accessible and the two countries should decide jointly how to utilize their natural resources," he added.
Earlier, Evangelos Venizelos had accused again Turkey of creating tensions in the eastern Mediterranean and violating Cyprus's legal rights.
"We are concerned about the recent provocations by Turkey of the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of the Republic of Cyprus," the minister said.
"Beyond violating the sovereignty and sovereign rights of a member state of the UN and the European union...this flagrant violation of the international law is creating yet another front, another crisis, in an already turbulent region, at a time when the Alliance and the international community are and must be focused on the very serious crises and security threats I earlier."