Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on a letter from the Turkish Permanent Representative to the UN regarding maritime zones

The Turkish claims contained in the letter of 13 November from the Turkish Permanent Representative to the UN regarding Turkey’s rights in maritime zones of the Eastern Mediterranean are not new and we have repeatedly responded to such claims in letters to the UN.

As we have stated in these letters, according to the International Law of the Sea, islands, regardless of their size, have full entitlement to maritime zones, as other land territories do. The delimitation of a continental shelf and exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between two States with adjacent or opposite coasts (both continental and insular) should take place in accordance with the pertinent rules of International Law, on the basis of the equidistance/median line principle.

The Turkish claims as well as the reference to specific coordinates are legally unfounded, erroneous and arbitrary, to the extent that they violate the sovereign rights of Greece in the region.

Moreover, the reference in the said letter to rights of Turkey west of the 28th meridian and up to a point “to be determined in accordance with the outcome of future delimitation agreements in the Aegean Sea as well as in the Mediterranean, among all relevant states”, constitutes open interference with Greece’s right to effect delimitation agreements with third states.

Greece rejects the illegal Turkish claims and will respond appropriately.

Consequently, the letter in question, as running counter to the International Law of the Sea, is rejected in its entirety and is void of any legal consequences as to Greece’s sovereign rights.

It is high time for Turkey to revise its stance and comply with the provisions of the International Law of the Sea, for the benefit of stability and cooperation in the region.