Greece and Turkey are entering a new period of diplomatic tension after Athens formally sent a diplomatic note (démarche) to Ankara over Turkey’s recent decision to establish two “national marine parks” in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean.
The move represents Greece’s direct response to Turkey’s unilateral declaration of the two marine parks, which Athens considers illegal.
The Greek Foreign Ministry has stated in the strongest possible terms that the Turkish presidential decisions are illegal, legally invalid and incapable of producing any legal effect.
According to the Greek diplomatic note, the designated areas extend arbitrarily beyond Turkey’s six-nautical-mile territorial waters. They include areas of international waters as well as areas that fall within the Greek continental shelf, according to Athens.
Greece argues that Turkey has no jurisdictional rights beyond its borders and stresses that such actions cannot create legal facts or establish rights through unilateral action.
Turkish move covers areas in the Northern and Southern Aegean
Turkey’s latest move involves presidential decrees establishing “protected areas” in the Northern Aegean, between Samothrace and Lemnos, and in the Southern Aegean, near Kastellorizo.
Athens views the initiative as an attempt to give the expansionist objectives associated with Turkey’s “Blue Homeland” doctrine an environmental justification.
The Greek side also argues that the move seeks to counter Greece’s legally established plans to create its own marine parks within Greek territory.
Athens considers further international action
Greek diplomacy remains on heightened alert following the Turkish announcements.
According to diplomatic sources, Athens does not intend to limit its response to the diplomatic note.
The Greek government is already considering coordinated measures, including possible approaches to international organisations such as the United Nations, with the aim of challenging what Athens describes as Turkish unilateral actions and defending Greece’s sovereign rights on the international stage.
The latest dispute adds another point of tension to Greek-Turkish relations, as both countries pursue competing positions over maritime jurisdiction and environmental initiatives in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean.
