The Turkish Defence Ministry on Thursday rejected Greek press reports that claimed two long-term maritime directives it recently issued, reserving navigation rights in large swathes of the Aegean, are limited to a period of two years.
“These notices have been issued with indefinite (permanent) validity to uphold our standing legal positions,” the ministry’s media officer, Zeki Akturk, told a press briefing in Ankara.
He added that “navigational announcements covering the continental shelf in the Aegean Sea, and all research activities remaining within our maritime jurisdiction areas must be coordinated with our country.”
Akturk went on to reiterate Ankara’s narrative regarding the demilitarization of Greek islands, accusing Athens of “unilateral actions and initiatives that ignore the rights and interests of our country.”
“Military activities and exercises conducted by Greece within the territorial waters of islands which possess non-military status (GASA) under the Treaties of Lausanne and Paris constitute a clear violation of international law,” the ministry’s statement said, calling on Greece to “act in accordance with the spirit of the Positive Agenda and the Treaty of Friendship.”
The new Turkish tactic of issuing long-term NAVTEX comes amid intensive efforts to finalize the details for an upcoming High-Level Cooperation Council (HLCC) meeting and talks between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Athens views the tactic as an indication that, despite a clear reduction in field tensions over the last three years, Ankara maintains a hardline stance on Aegean issues, adding new tools to promote its positions to the international community.
According to competent sources, the deliberately vague and general nature of these references, combined with the unusually long duration, seeks to entrench the perception that the entire area east of the 25th Meridian (which roughly bisects the Aegean) falls under Turkish jurisdiction. Furthermore, Athens perceives this practice as a form of permanent pressure intended to keep Greece in a defensive posture.
More specifically, two latest notices claim the Turkish continental shelf in the Aegean “remains to be delimited by coastal states” and demands all research be coordinated with Turkish authorities (NAVTEX 0060/26, Izmir Station), and explicitly name 23 islands (including Lesvos, Chios, Rhodes, and the Kastellorizo complex) as being under “permanent demilitarization status” (NAVTEX 0880/25, Antalya Station).
The Greek side has responded through the appropriate channels and by issuing its own notices to ensure the international maritime community understands that there has been no change to the legal status in the Aegean.