Sunday, February 1, 2009

Greece: Foreign ministry spokesman on anniversary of Imia incident

The foreign ministry's spokesman on Wednesday commented on the 11-year anniversary of the Imia incident, a dispute over a pair of rocky, uninhabited islets in the eastern Aegean that almost precipitated in a confrontation between Greece and Turkey.

"Eleven years have passed since yet another incident in Greek-Turkish relations, and this gives us the opportunity to confirm our volition to always defend Greek interests, and at the same time, to safeguard conditions for good-neighborly relations with Turkey," spokesman George Koumoutsakos told reporters.

Ankara's dispute of Greek sovereignty of the islets and their accompanying continental shelf -- which lies to the east of the "sponge-divers" island of Kalymnos - ranked as the lowest point in Greek-Turkish relations since 1974.


Source: ANA daily news bulletin


Embassy of Greece - The Hague, Netherlands - Press & Communication Office ~

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