Greece will not allow Turkey to join the European Union's SAFE (Security Action for Europe) defense initiative while threatening Greece with war if Athens expands its territorial waters in the Aegean Sea, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in an interview with Sky TV, BTA reported.
Greece's territorial waters in the Aegean Sea currently cover an area 6 nautical miles from the country's coast. According to international maritime law, the country has the right to extend them to 12 nautical miles, but in 1995 The Turkish parliament passed a resolution that Ankara would consider such an action as a cause for war (casus belli).
“For Turkey to enter the SAFE program (to strengthen the European defense industry through joint procurement and financing), consensus is needed. As long as (Turkey) insists on a casus belli against Greece and raises questions about “gray zones” in the Aegean Sea, it will not enter the program. Greece will not allow it,“ said Mitsotakis.
Regarding the sharp Turkish reaction to the marine park announced by Athens in the Aegean Sea, the Greek Prime Minister said that “environmental initiatives such as marine parks should be supported by all countries, because ultimately the marine environment is common“, but was categorical that “we do not discuss issues of sovereignty with Turkey“.
“The marine parks extend within our territorial waters. Our territorial waters are defined by the islands that belong to Greece, and there is no question of Turkey challenging the Greek islands“, said the Greek Prime Minister.
On Monday, Mitsotakis announced the creation of two marine parks in Greek waters. One, in the Ionian Sea, extends 12 miles from the country's coast in accordance with the declared extension of Greek sovereignty there, while the second, in the Aegean Sea, is limited to the existing territorial waters of 6 nautical miles. In addition, the park has been declared in the area of the southern Cyclades Islands - a considerable distance from the Turkish coast.
However, the Turkish Foreign Ministry reacted sharply and stated that the Greek actions have no legal value. According to Turkey, sovereignty over some of the islands in the Aegean Sea has never been transferred to Greece by an international treaty. In addition, Ankara insists that “unilateral actions in closed or semi-closed seas such as the Aegean and the Mediterranean Sea should be avoided”.
Another similar, although different in legal nature, issue that has permanently caused tension between Athens and Ankara in the region is the distribution of exclusive economic zones in the Eastern Mediterranean. On this topic, Turkey, which is not a party to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, argues that islands, unlike continental masses, do not give rise to exclusive economic zone rights.