|
|
|
Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 12-06-14
CONTENTS
[01] Turkish minister: Ankara won't sign UN Convention on Law of the Sea
[01] Turkish minister: Ankara won't sign UN Convention on Law of the Sea
STRASBURG (AMNA) -- Turkey's Minister for European Affairs Egemen Bagis
reiterated here on Thursday that "Ankara does not sign the UN Convention
on the Law of the Sea because of problems with Greece as regards the
Aegean islands."
The influential Turkish minister was a formal guest at the 69th Meeting
of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, held here this week.
Bagis made the statement in response to a relevant question, adding:
"Turkey will not sign such a convention until it becomes a full member
of the European Union."
Earlier, Greek MEP Giorgos Koumoutsakos, a former foreign ministry
spokesman in Athens, pointed out to Bagis that the UN Convention
on the Law of the Sea is a European acquis, considering that all
EU-members and EU candidate members -- except Turkey -- are contractual
parties. www.amna.gr
The reply of the Turkish government minister drew negative comments of
several MEP members of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, who
underlined that the response shows that "an EU candidate state accepts
the International Law, international conventions and the European acquis
only if they serve its interests and aspirations, therefore, raising a
serious issue as regards Turkey's relations with Greece and the EU." amna
|
