Oct 29 (Reuters) – Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called on Wednesday for a global maritime truce after a drone attack sank a Greek container ship off Bulgaria, the latest of a series of strikes on ships in the western Black Sea this month.
Speaking at a high-level debate of the Greek presidency of the UN Security Council on maritime security, Mitsotakis said commercial vessels must be able to navigate safely and freely even during times of conflict.
“Targeted civilian commercial shipping is completely unacceptable. It is yet another reminder for the urgent need for a global maritime truce” he said, adding that disruptions to freedom of navigation drive up shipping and insurance costs, and ultimately increase costs for consumers.
Commenting on a Turkey-Libya maritime accord which has drawn condemnation from Greece and Cyprus and three Arab states, Mitsotakis said that no bilateral arrangement could override international law of the sea, which provides a framework for cooperation and the peaceful settlement of maritime disputes.
“We cannot allow our seas to become a jungle,” he said.
(Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; Writing by Antonis Pothitos; Editing by Alison Williams and Andrew Heavens)
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