Page 9 - MEOG Week 36
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MEOG POLICY MEOG
“At the time they were seized, the Defendant “The cargoes were loaded from Iran, but neither
Properties were destined for Trinidad for sale to the ships nor the cargoes belonged to Iran, and
customers in Peru and Colombia,” the compa- the US declared victory for itself in the middle
nies wrote in the filing. of this. The fuel was Iranian, but it had been sold
Venezuela shares a maritime border with to Venezuela and its payment had been cleared.”
the Caribbean dual-island nation of Trinidad & It remains unclear where the ships were at
Tobago, and a land border with Colombia. the time of the seizures because they had all
On August 17, Iran’s Petroleum Minister turned off their satellite-tracking systems to
Bijan Zanganeh confirmed that the fuel seized by avoid detection, according to data compiled by
the US from the tankers was Iranian but added: Bloomberg.
Greece says it will talk to Turkey
once Ankara stops ‘provocations’
EAST MED GREEK Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis oil exploration vessels into maritime territories
said on September 4 that Greece would start that they hold are either Greek or Cypriot. Tur-
talks with Turkey to resolve their conflicting key has hit out at a pact Greece made with Egypt
claims over maritime boundaries in the eastern delineating an area of the sea that Ankara claims
Mediterranean, but only once Ankara put a stop infringes the Turkish continental shelf.
to its “provocations”. Turkey is also holding war games in the
“[Our country] can and wants to discuss the eastern Mediterranean and tensions this week
demarcation of maritime zones in the Aegean mounted further when the Turkish navy said
Sea, in the eastern Mediterranean, based on it had information that Russia would hold two
international law. But not under threats,” Mit- naval exercises in the vicinity beginning next
sotakis said during a meeting with China’s top week.
diplomat Yang Jiechi who is visiting Athens, as Mitsotakis spoke a day after NATO Secre-
reported by Reuters. tary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that Greece
He added: “Let the threats go for talks to and Turkey, both members of the Western alli-
begin. Once the provocations end, discussions ance, had agreed to talks to avoid accidental
will begin.” clashes in the eastern Mediterranean.
Mitsotakis said that Greece’s foreign minister Turkey said it supported NATO’s initiative,
would deliver a letter from him outlining Athens’ adding that the talks were not about solving
case to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres bilateral problems but about measures so far
when the two meet in New York on September 4. handled by the two countries’ militaries. It added
Turkey is accused by Athens, Cyprus and the that it expected Greece to do the same.
EU—particularly France, which has lately sent a Commenting on NATO’s announcement on
warship and fighter planes for joint military exer- September 3, Greek diplomats said a condition
cises with Greece in the eastern Mediterranean for dialogue remained that Turkey de-escalated
and has been to the fore in pressing for Brussels its activity in the region.
to hit Turkey with sanctions—of sending gas and
Week 36 09•September•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P9
