Turkey announced on Saturday its plans to establish its marine protection initiatives in the Aegean Sea, the Black Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean, a move that follows Greece’s recent declaration of two national marine parks in the region. This development is expected to raise diplomatic tensions between the two countries, reigniting long-standing disputes over maritime boundaries and sovereignty across the Aegean Sea.
The maps that Turkey revealed were published by the Ankara University National Center for the Sea and Maritime Law (DEHUKAM). This publication comes after a diplomatic note from Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which criticised Greece’s 21 July declaration of marine parks in the Ionian and Southern Aegean seas as a “unilateral action.”
What did Turkey say about Greece’s marine parks
According to the Turkish statement, such moves in “closed or semi-enclosed seas” like the Aegean and Mediterranean should be avoided without mutual agreements. Turkey also claimed that Greece’s initiative would have no legal bearing on existing disputes, particularly concerning the sovereignty of islands and islets whose status is contested by Ankara.
Ankara also noted that Turkey is ready to cooperate with Greece on environmental issues but stressed that any solution must be based on international law and the principles of good neighbourly relations, as outlined in the Athens Declaration signed in December 2023. The statement concluded by promising that Turkey would unveil its own marine environmental protection projects in the coming days, as it did on Saturday.
Athens was quick to respond to Ankara’s claims, dismissing them as legally baseless. The Greek Foreign Ministry insisted that its new marine parks were based purely on environmental science and were located in areas “under Greek sovereignty.” They flatly rejected Turkey’s argument that such a move in a “semi-enclosed sea” required mutual agreement, stating that the legal status of the Aegean is already “clear” and “permanently defined by international treaties.” Athens also stated that the “exercise of rights stemming from Greek sovereignty is not subject to negotiation.”
What do Turkey’s marine park maps show
The maps published by the Ankara University on Saturday show Turkey’s proposed marine parks extending into areas Greece considers its own. In the Aegean Sea, the proposed marine parks by Turkey stretch beyond Turkish territorial waters to the west of the islands of Imbros and Tenedos, between Greece’s Samothrace and Lemnos islands. In the Eastern Mediterranean, the proposed park does not acknowledge the Greek island of Kastellorizo, effectively surrounding and blocking it, with the park’s boundaries beginning northeast of Rhodes and continuing to the waters off Antalya.
Greece’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement later on Saturday, reacting to Ankara’s map. ”The declaration of marine parks in undefined regions outside Turkish territorial waters constitutes an unacceptable, unilateral, and illegal action that has no legal bearing on Greece’s sovereign rights,” the Greek Foreign Ministry stated, adding that ”it also demonstrates a complete disregard for international maritime law.”
The core of the dispute between Greece and Turkey lies in the differing interpretations of international maritime law. Greece, a signatory of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), maintains that its islands are entitled to full maritime zones, as specified by UNCLOS. Turkey, however, has not ratified UNCLOS and contests these claims, leading to claims over Greece’s rights.
Related: Turkey Unveils Divisive Maritime Map in Response to Greece’s Marine Park Plan
