Turkey takes all legal actions over interception of Turkish merchant ship: Defense minister

ANKARA

Turkey has taken every legal action following the interception of a Turkish-flagged commercial ship named Roseline-A in the eastern Mediterranean Sea by the EU’s military mission Irini, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Nov. 30.

Referring to the search of the Turkish-flagged commercial ship on Nov. 22, Akar said, “There was all humanitarian aid on the ship. We did everything that needs to be done in the legal plan related to this, and we have been doing it.”

“We are not the ones who increase the tension and intensify the events. We try to do whatever we can to solve our problems through dialogue by talking and negotiating to maintain good neighborly relations,” he said, addressing the top Turkish generals via teleconference.

Citing the tension with Greece in the region, he said, “Unfortunately, our neighbor stubbornly refrains from talks on this issue and seeks solutions at other doors. Even though we have told them over and over again that a solution cannot be found in this way, they still insist on that issue. They are doing wrong.”

“We can discuss this issue within the framework of mutual confidence-building measures. We can negotiate within the framework of exploratory talks, and we can negotiate under the name of deconfliction procedures under the leadership of the NATO secretary-general,” Akar said, noting that unfortunately, Athens has taken “a very contrary stance.”