«Not a single word was said in the meeting I had with my Turkish counterpart about coexistence on natural resources in the Aegean Sea», said the Minister of National Defence, Nikos Panagiotopoulos, speaking in the plenary session of the Parliament.
Earlier, Hellenic Solution MP, Konstantinos Chitas, had asked the Defence Minister about his Turkish counterpart's statement after their recent meeting, in which Mr Akar had mentioned co-exploitation in the Aegean. ‘We,« said Hitas, »do not believe this statement. However, he called on the minister, on the occasion of his appearance in parliament, to refute Akar's claims about the content of their meeting.
«Nor did I have any such authorization, nor did I have any such authority to discuss with my counterpart, the Turkish Defence Minister, the issue of joint exploitation of the Aegean, in terms of natural resources‘, replied the Minister of National Defence, Nikos Panagiotopoulos. What was discussed - the minister clarified - is that given the great geopolitical turmoil in the region, it will be in the interest of both »to lower the tensions that tested us as countries last summer and therefore, Defence ministers should work out ways that will lead to a de-escalation of tensions and the establishment of a calmer climate in the region in order to have a calm summer, and from this calm summer the tourism economy for both countries will benefit.‘.
