A spokesman for the Turkish foreign ministry responded to former Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias’ statement that Greece was legally entitled to relocate their border in the Aegean to the west by 12 nautical miles.
Mr Hami Aksoy was recorded on Reuters saying that Greece has no such right without the agreement of Turkey and a warning was given to the Greek ambassador to Ankara, Panos Mavroidis: “We cannot tolerate any step that is not based on mutual consent in the Aegean sea where two countries have opposite coasts,” Mr Aksoy said. “The declaration of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, dated 8 June 1995, contains a necessary political warning and is still in force today.”
In response to these statements, Greek foreign ministry spokesman Alexandros Gennimatas spoke in a direct tone regarding Greece’s legal rights in the Aegean: “The extension of the territorial waters is a legitimate and inalienable sovereign right of Greece, in accordance with international law. The decision to extend it relies solely on Greece, which has the right to extend its territorial waters whenever and in any way it sees fit. This right is unconditional and is not called into question or negotiated with third parties. This is certainly the case for the entire country,” said Mr Gennimatas.
However, Turkey’s foreign minister himself Melvut Cavusoglu tried to downplay the entire issue when talking to news agency Anadolu, as he pointed towards Greece to be the cause of the problem: “Greece often makes such announcements to cause tension or in a populist framework,” he said, adding that Turkey would like to resolve matters peacefully.