Ankara’s choice to maintain the rhetorical tension on the issue of marine parks at three different levels – Ministries of Foreign Affairs, National Defense and the ruling party – testifies to the decision not to misinterpret, even indirectly, the intransigent stance it maintains on Aegean issues, such as , of course, these have been shaped by Turkish diplomacy in recent years centered on the theory of “gray zones”. The return, via leaks from the Turkish Ministry of National Defense, of a response in the field in the event that Greece proceeds with the demarcation of marine parks, is the first time since February 2023 that Ankara has returned to indirect but not clear threats to use military force to the prevention of a right of Athens. On the Greek side, however, as Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis noted yesterday from Brussels, there is no question of changing the planned meeting in Ankara with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which will take place on May 13. In addition, the prime minister highlights the storm of the Turkish reactions, describing them as “unjustified”, as they concern environmental issues.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis described the Turkish approach as “unjustified” – The Prime Minister’s visit to Ankara will normally take place on May 13.
Turkey’s overreaction highlights, if nothing else, Ankara’s absolute adherence to the “gray zones” agenda, an ingrained suspicion of the state towards Greece and the West in general, as the declaration of marine parks is done in the context of possibilities that provided by the E.U. (including funding). Some in Athens wonder, in fact, why environmental initiatives such as this are not part of a broader version of the so-called positive agenda. Also, it clearly emerges that the infamous communication channels between Athens and Ankara are not as effective as is sometimes proclaimed. After all this, the milestones of the Mitsotakis-Erdogan meetings on May 13 in Ankara – as the Prime Minister stated will take place as usual – and on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington in July (9-11.7) become even more important, as they may serve to advance conversations that right now seem difficult on the face of it.
Mr. Mitsotakis characteristically said yesterday that “Greece exercises its sovereignty and sovereign rights in the Aegean based on international law and the law of the sea. Beyond that, I am also impressed by this completely unjustified reaction of Turkey for an initiative which, after all, has an environmental nature”. Mr. Mitsotakis underlined that, as he has promised, “Greece will proceed with the creation of these marine parks”. The prime minister also remarked that in his opinion “the improvement of Greek-Turkish relations, which is undeniable and measurable”, does not automatically lead to the working hypothesis that “Turkey’s basic positions regarding the critical issue of the delimitation of maritime zones in the Aegean and in the Eastern Mediterranean they have changed”.
Mr. Mitsotakis underlined that “these positions remain positions which are deeply problematic for our country”, however, as he said, “this does not prevent us from being able to discuss, form a general good climate and invest more in the positive agenda and less on the issues that divide us and on which we clearly disagree”.
Persistence in the theory of “gray zones”
Greece is not retreating from its sovereign rights, nor is it withdrawing from the Greek-Turkish dialogue, government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said yesterday, among other things, commenting on the latest rhetorical escalation by the Turkish Ministry of National Defense regarding the creation of a marine environmental protection park in Aegean. “Our positions are given, our disposition to continue the dialogue is given, it is given that we are not retreating from our sovereign rights and it is also self-evident and we have proven it throughout history that our country deeply believes in resolving disputes, of one dispute, in this case the determination of EEZ and continental shelf, but we still have a long way to go based on international law and the law of the sea,” he said. The government representative even underlined that “all these actions, all these movements are clearly aimed at protecting the environment, they have a wider environmental character, all the movements of the country. And of course, Greece is a sovereign country that does not retreat from its sovereign rights and, in relation to the neighboring country, we continue and believe in the continuation of the dialogue”.
Athens responds to Ankara’s rhetoric with the firm position that it is not going to back down on issues of sovereign rights.
The statements of Mr. Marinakis were made shortly after the leaks from the Ministry of National Defense of Turkey that brought back the claim about islands and islets of “indefinite sovereignty” in the Aegean, in fact a few hours after similar remarks by the representative of the ruling AKP party, Omer Celik, before a party audience. “The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on April 8 that two large marine parks will be declared in the Aegean and the Ionian seas. Our Ministry of Foreign Affairs has taken the necessary diplomatic actions regarding the parks that are planned to be declared and has stated that unilateral de facto situations in the Aegean islands and islets whose sovereignty has not been determined (EGEAAYDAK) will not be accepted and will not bring about legal consequences” said, among others, sources of the Ministry of National Defense of Turkey, as reported from Istanbul by “K” correspondent Manolis Kostidis.
“As a ministry we remain vigilant in order to protect our interests, rights and interests in the Aegean to prevent Greece’s attempts to establish a unilateral regime,” the specific sources also said. It is recalled that the Minister of National Defense, in a conference, expressed the hope “that there are some limits to the irrationality of our neighboring country”, referring to the latest Turkish reactions.
Source kathimerini.gr
Vasilis Nedos
Greek-Turkish: The tension over the parks does not stop Mitsotakis’ visit – 2024-04-23 15:40:16
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#Finlands #president #kind #frontline #state #NATO
President Alexander Stubb is on a state visit to Sweden, which began with a visit to the royal palace. Afterwards, he met the Speaker of the Riksdag, Andreas Norlén, and gave a speech in front of the Riksdag.
In the afternoon, a joint press meeting was held with Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
A press conference where Ulf Kristersson began by highlighting how Europe needs to take greater responsibility for European security. But also how important the support to Ukraine is, both for Ukraine as an independent nation but also for the security of Finland and Sweden. He also welcomes the announcement from the US where a new large support package was recently voted through to Ukraine.
President Alexander Stubb says that much of his and Ulf Kristersson’s conversations were about security and defence. Above all within NATO.
– We became members because we gave added value to NATO. On the ground, in the air and at sea. Now we have a huge responsibility, we are a kind of frontline state for NATO because we doubled the border with Russia, says President Alexander Stubb.
Business plays an important role in safety
Alexander Stubb also emphasizes that there is another side to the geopolitical world. Where it’s not just a matter of weapons, missiles and troops. Without an important issue is business and its role in security.
– If I were a company leader, I would make sure to have a chief geopolitical officer. You have to understand what is happening, we no longer live in the same free market world that we thought we would live in after the Cold War, says Stubb.
The last point at the press conference referred to the need for secure networks. Where Alexander Stubb says that today there are great opportunities for Swedish Ericsson and Finnish Nokia to expand around the world to fill this need.
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New Delhi: IndiaAustralian High Commissioner Philip Green on Tuesday said he is hopeful that more Indian students will come to Australia for their education next year. The High Commissioner said it is wrong to say that there has been an increase in the number of visa rejections of Indian students by Australian universities as recently reported by some media, and that they are reconsidering their higher education plans. He emphasized the fact that the statistics have been self-observed, and underlined that ‘this year they are the same as last year’ and ‘there has been no increase in student rejections.’ ‘There has been no increase in student rejections. I have seen these figures myself and they are the same as last year. Unlike some other countries, Australia does not impose any limits on the number of foreign students coming to our country. Yes, we want to ensure that students coming from prestigious institutions will have a good experience in Australia,’ said Envoy Green during an interview with ANI.
‘We apologize for the fact that we want good students and we want to make sure they are paired with the right courses. It is absolutely wrong to say that rejections have increased; “We look forward to as many, and perhaps even more, Indian students coming to Australia next year,” he said. Appreciating the cooperation between India and Australia in the field of education and skill development, the High Commissioner welcomed Lauded the opening of an overseas branch of an Australian university, which is the first time a foreign university has opened its campus in India.
The country’s Deakin University earlier inaugurated its branch campus in GIFT City, Gujarat. ‘A large number of Indians choose to come to Australia as part of their education, and we generally work on this, and there will be more of this. But frankly, if this country is to fulfill its growth potential, we will need more skills. And that’s why we join the Government of India in saying that this should not be a one-way street,” said Ambassador Green. ‘Australian education should be more available here in India so Indians can fulfill their potential. ‘So I am happy that the first two foreign branch campuses in the world that have come to India have come from Australian universities, and they will not be the last,’ he said.
The move was taken to strengthen educational ties between the two countries and provide Indian students access to world-class Australian education. Through the new education policy brought in 2020, India has opened the doors for foreign educational institutions to set up brick-and-mortar infrastructure. Notably, in January this year, Ian Martin, Vice-Chancellor of Australia’s Deakin University, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Gandhinagar, where they had fruitful discussions on enhancing cooperation between the government and educational institutions regarding cyber security. In a post on X, the Prime Minister welcomed Deakin University to collaborate with Indian universities to promote research and innovation. In November last year, Union Minister of Education and Skill Development, Dharmendra Pradhan had held a bilateral meeting with his Australian counterpart, Education Minister Jason Claire, MP.
The two Ministers then reviewed comprehensively the bilateral cooperation in education and skills and agreed to further strengthen the knowledge and skills partnership for greater mobility, employment and prosperity of the people in our two countries. During the meeting, Pradhan described 2023 as a landmark year for Australia and India for cooperation, especially in the areas of education and skill development. He then said that education and skills as primary and priority areas of our bilateral relations reflect the commitment of PM Narendra Modi and Australian PM Anthony Albanese to strengthen knowledge bridges. Meanwhile, MP Jason Clare in his address highlighted how the future of countries will be shaped with the help of meaningful partnerships in the areas of education and skills. He mentioned 450 existing research partnerships between the two countries. He also remarked that collaboration at the government, institutional and industry levels will further strengthen the alliance and benefit both countries. ,ANI)
#Indian #students #expected #Australia #year #Ambassador #Philip #Green
2024-04-23 15:04:30
More Indian students expected to come to Australia next year: Ambassador Philip Green
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