“The days of the Ottoman Empire are over,” Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said on Thursday and urged Turkey to comply with the international law.
“Turkey must finally understand that it can no longer behave as if we are in the 18th or 19th century,” Dendias said after a briefing of opposition party representatives on Cyprus developments, including a plan by Turkish and Turkish Cypriot leaders to partially reopen the abandoned resort of Varosha.
“The days of the Ottoman Empire are over… Respect for international law and the law of the sea are the governing principles of relations between states,” Dendias said adding that “realizing this would be in the interest of Turkish society, a large part of which I believe already shares these views.
Despite the political differences, Dendias did not hesitate to call his Turkish counterpart Nevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday and offer Greece’s assistance in the forest fires in South Turkey.