'Coordination' on Greek-Turkish sea border not about joint patrols, Seibert says

Gazzetta team 21 Οκτωβρίου 2015 - 21:13

Returning to the issue of cooperation between Greece and Turkey in the Aegean, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert on Wednesday clarified that the call for coordination on the Greek-Turkish sea-border was not about joint patrols.

Berlin was aware of Greek sensitivities on this issue, he added.

Referring to an informal summit meeting called by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Sunday, Seibert said this should also consider ways to implement the decisions of the full European Council.

"In this, the borders of Greece and Turkey - two member-states of NATO - in the Aegean play a major role. Coordination is, I believe, what we should be striving for there. We are, of course, aware of the sensitivities in Greece but coordination must be striven for along the length of the EU's external borders with a partner in NATO, such as Turkey. This does not mean joint patrols, that is something else," he said.

He declined to elaborate in detail on what such coordination in the Aegean might entail, noting only that the goal "is in all our interests."