On Wednesday, Greece rejected multiple sovereignty claims by Turkey to the United Nations, over the long-term contentions regarding Exclusive Economic Zone’s (EEZ) in the eastern Mediterranean.
Greece believes Turkey’s claims are “legally unfounded, incorrect and arbitrary.”
In a letter sent to the United Nations, by Turkey’s Permanent Representative Feridun Sinirlioglu on November 13, Turkey retained their claim over an EEZ and maritime border with Egypt in the Eastern Mediterranean.
This claim is also linked to the legal and sovereign rights in the maritime areas of the Eastern Mediterranean.
“The Turkish claims and reference to specific coordinates are legally unfounded, incorrect and arbitrary, in so far as they violate Greece’s sovereign rights in the region,” the Greek Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
According to international maritime law, the islands, regardless of their land mass, have full rights to maritime zones as well as continental territories. The ministry continued saying that the delimitation of the continental shelf and the EEZ between adjacent or coastal states (either continental or islands) should be done in accordance with the rules of international law, based on the principles of equal distance (midline).
Greece have also stated that the Turkish claims west of the 32nd meridian “constitute an open interference with the Greece’s right to conclude demarcation agreements with third countries.”
“Greece rejects the illegal Turkish claims and reserves the right to respond appropriately.”
