Turkey slams Greek ‘dreams’ to extend territorial waters

By SUZAN FRASER
Associated Press

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s defense minister says the country will never accept Greek moves to extend its territorial waters in the Aegean sea, dismissing any possible effort by Athens as “empty dreams.” Addressing a symposium on Turkish-Greek relations on Thursday, Hulusi Akar said Turkey was determined to press ahead with efforts to search for energy in the eastern Mediterranean in areas where its believes Ankara and Turkish Cypriots have rights. The two neighbors have long been at odds over a series of disputes, including territorial rights in the Aegean Sea and over energy exploration rights in the eastern Mediterranean. Tensions flared last year over exploratory drilling rights in areas in the Mediterranean where Greece and Cyprus claim as their own exclusive economic zone.