Reports that Turkey is close to concluding an agreement with the new Syrian authorities on the delimitation of the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of Ankara and Damascus in the Eastern Mediterranean have provoked a sharp, albeit unofficial, reaction from Athens, Greek media reported, quoted by BTA.
Sources from the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, quoted by Sky TV, stated that the borders of the region are European and that the issue has already been put up for discussion in the European Union through a joint declaration by Cyprus, Greece and Austria. According to them, the situation in Syria is temporary and does not give anyone the right to conclude agreements on maritime borders.
The Greek authorities are monitoring the development of the issue and are in constant communication with Cyprus, neighboring countries and the EU, the sources said.
According to the Turkish television TGRT News, the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of Turkey Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said that Ankara intends to conclude a “maritime jurisdiction agreement with the Syrian administration“.
Turkey and Greece, supported by Egypt, have long been arguing about the scope of exclusive economic zones in the Eastern Mediterranean. Ankara refuses to recognize the government of the Republic of Cyprus, as well as the importance of the Greek islands in determining the continental shelf. Turkey is supported in this dispute by the Libyan government in Tripoli.