European support has been extended to Greece and Cyprus amid provocations by Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, conveyed the concern of the European Council over the tension in the Eastern Mediterranean and supported Greece and Cyprus during a teleconference on Wednesday.

“Every possible effort must be made to de-escalate the dangerous tension in the region,” Ms Merkel said at the end of the meeting which focused on Belarus. “The Council,” she added, “expressed solidarity to Greece and Cyprus in terms of their rights.”

She also reiterated that September’s European Council will focus on the EU’s relations with Turkey, “something that has multiple facets, of course.”

Germany, she underlined, supports the restart of dialogue on disagreements concerning the delineation of maritime borders between the two countries, a dialogue that continued until 2016. “From our point of view, it must restart, especially between Greece and Turkey,” she said, but expressed concern over the escalation which would be discussed further in September.

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CNN interview

Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called on Turkey to stop unilateral actions in the Eastern Mediterranean and start talks with Greece, in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Wednesday.

“My message to Turkey is very simple: stop the provocations and let’s start talking as civilised neighbours,” Mr Mitsotakis said, adding that the matter could be taken to international court should a resolution not be found. He said, however, that Greece could not tolerate “unilateral activity by Turkey” which challenges Greece’s EEZ “by sending not just an exploration ship but also a significant number of military vessels to the area.” Greece, he noted, “has never escalated tension first.”

Mr Mitsotakis said that Turkey’s actions are not in accord with international law, especially towards a fellow NATO member.  “If Turkey considers these areas to be disputed and we consider them to be part of the Greek EEZ, they should sit down with us and discuss about it. This is what we have always proposed. What we cannot accept is a fait accompli as a result of Turkish provocation,” Mr Mitsotakis said.

“I don’t think this is a disagreement between two neighbors. I think this is a challenge for Europe, it’s a challenge for the world.”

He said the neighbouring country should know that Turkey would damage its relationship with the EU should this behaviour continue.

Asked to comment on a New York Times article claiming that the Greek Coast Guard had abandoned migrants at sea, he said that Greece had been a victim of a misinformation campaign. This is part of Turkey’s efforts to “weaponise the migration issue,” he said.

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“Greece has every right to defend its borders,” he said, adding that it does so within international rules. It’s a country that has granted asylum to tens of thousands, and has been helping refugees integrate in Greek society in partnership with Europe. It is also the first country to organize returns of migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected, in tandem with the International Migration Organization.

“We have a comprehensive migration/refugee strategy, which at its premise has the need to protect both our land and sea borders,” he said.