No to the militarization of the Eastern Mediterranean!
Intervention of Yiorgos Loukaides at the 3rd Tripartite Meeting of the Defence and Foreign Affairs Committees of the Parliaments of Cyprus, Greece and Israel
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 23 November 2018, Nicosia
Peace, the respect for International Law and the interests of the peoples of the region, who are the owners of the natural resources of each country, are the principles that must govern energy plans and cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean, AKEL Parliamentary Speaker Yiorgos Loukaides pointed out,
Yiorgos Loukaides was speaking today at the deliberations of the 3rd Tripartite Meeting of the Defense and Foreign Affairs Committees of the Parliaments of Cyprus, Greece and Israel, which taking place today in Athens.
Speaking in a discussion on the subject “The latest developments in Southeast Mediterranean: Common Challenges and Interests”, Y. Loukaides stressed that “our neighborhood is at the centre of intense geopolitical upheavals, energy competitions and conflicts which are accompanied by an unprecedented and dangerous militarization”.
The fact that Turkey is occupying half of Cyprus, doesn’t recognize the Republic of Cyprus and hasn’t adopted the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, together with the Turkish aggressive actions against the Republic of Cyprus and its sovereign rights, dramatically escalates tension and the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean. The respect for the sovereignty and sovereign rights of each state, as well as of International Law, and in particular the UN Law of the Sea, is a fundamental parameter on which the exploitation of the natural resources of the Eastern Mediterranean should proceed, Y.Loukaides underlined. Furthermore, he noted that each country’s natural wealth is the property of its people, and its use must be planned for the benefit of its people.
At the same time, the AKEL MP pointed out that natural wealth and energy partnerships must become a factor that should promote peace and cooperation in the region, without any exclusions. The partnerships that are being developed in the Eastern Mediterranean for the exploitation of natural wealth, he stressed, should neither be directed against other states, nor be militarized and lead to the militarization of the region. The security of the countries of the region and their energy plans isn’t safeguarded by militarization, armaments and the conduct of continuous military exercises, Y.Loukaides said characteristically, adding that “real security will come about when the big problems of the region are solved”, namely the Cyprus problem should be solved, the Turkish occupation terminated and the island and the people reunified.
Furthermore, the AKEL MP underlined, the Middle East problem must be solved by the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as the capital. And of course, the bloodshed and foreign interventions in Syria must end, with a peaceful solution that must restore the sovereignty and territorial integrity of neighboring Syria.
The AKEL Parliamentary Speaker also put special emphasis on the issue of nuclear weapons and nuclear programs that are a nightmare for the Mediterranean, the Middle East and the wider region. “The Agreement on the Iranian Nuclear Program must be maintained,” Y.Loukaides stressed because it hinders competition in nuclear arms in the Middle East and at the same time renders Europe safer. He also referred to the recent decision approved by the European Parliament with which Trump’s decision to withdraw the US from the relevant Agreement was denounced.
Yiorgos Loukaides also recalled the unanimous resolution approved by the Cyprus House of Representatives in October 2014, in which the Cypriot parliament expressed its support for the goal for an “immediate convening of a conference by the United Nations aiming at proclaiming the Middle East a zone free from any nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction” along the lines of other de-nuclearized zones on the planet.
