ATHENS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th April, 2023) Expansion of maritime boundaries from 6 miles to 12 miles in the Aegean is a unilateral right of Greece, and Turkish threats over it are unacceptable, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said on Monday.
Greece has repeatedly stated that under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Athens has the right to expand its territorial waters from 6 miles to 12 miles to the south and west of Crete. Turkey, in turn, has warned Greece about consequences, saying it will consider such a decision as a reason for war.
"UNCLOS says up to 12 miles. I think that the expansion is a unilateral right of Greece and we have said that the country will use it when it will be in the national interest," Dendias told Greek broadcaster Skai.
He also noted that the Turkish threats regarding war were unacceptable.
Ankara believes that by expanding its territorial waters, Greece will practically block Ankara's access to international waters. Athens and Ankara have said that they intend to apply to the international court in The Hague to resolve their differences, but in order to do this, they must agree on the text of the appeal.
Turkey and Greece have been at odds for decades. Other disputed issues include competing territorial claims in the Eastern Mediterranean, in particular in the region of the Aegean Sea, the Greek-Turkish divide in Cyprus, and the delimitation of maritime borders. Turkey has repeatedly accused Greece of deploying weapons on the Aegean islands in violation of the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne.
