Greek delegation withdraws from NATO Parliamentary Assembly in protest

24/02/2020

February 19, 2020

Eclat in NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Brussels: the Greek delegation withdrew in protest, denouncing the president’s stance. During the Assembly meeting, the Greek delegation highlighted the issue of the Turkey-Libya Agreement that violates Greek sovereign rights and sought to inform NATO member states of Turkey’s actions in violation of Greek sovereign rights.

“The President of the Assembly has systematically interrupted our positions and questions, impeding the development of our positions,” the five-member delegation said in a joint statement.

Despite the interruptions, the Greek lawmakers concluded their work and left the Assembly.

The joint statement:

“During the work of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Brussels, we, as the Greek Delegation, we emphasized the issue of the Turkey – Libya Agreement which violates International Law and the sovereign rights of Greece.

In the ensuing debate following the speech of Turkey’s Ambassador to NATO, we sought to obtain answers on the issue of violating Greece’s sovereign rights, as well as to inform our fellow Members of NATO of the other countries about Turkey’s illegal actions and the risks of ignition they cause in the region.

We have particularly highlighted the fact that Turkey, with its agreement with Libya, deliberately violates the principle of international law with the EEZ taking into account the islands. We have also emphasized that we already have writing samples from Ankara, in another field, with regards to the practical use of its legal acrobatics: Turkey is already drilling in the Cyprus EEZ in plots awarded through an international competition for oil companies of NATO member states, such as France and Italy.