Greece-Turkey exploratory contacts are set to renew on Monday in Istanbul as Ankara is warning Athens that the extension of its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles within the Aegean is an act or scenario scary or justifying conflict extra merely generally known as a casus belli.
On Friday, Turkish Overseas Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu reminded Greece that “Turkey’s place on the problem of the Aegean has not modified.”
“The choice taken by the Turkish parliament has not modified,” he mentioned, referring to the 1995 declaration by the Home that if Greece extends its territorial water to12 nautical miles, because it reserves the precise to take action beneath worldwide legislation, this is able to represent a casus belli.
Earlier within the week, Turkey’s foreign affairs’ ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy mentioned that “Turkey has important rights and pursuits within the semi-enclosed Aegean Sea, the place particular geographical circumstances prevail.”
He added that “the territorial waters within the Aegean Sea shouldn’t be unilaterally prolonged in a method to prohibit the liberty of navigation in addition to the entry to the excessive seas of each Turkey and third international locations.”
The most recent threats by Ankara comply with the ratification by the Greek parliament of the invoice extending the nation’s territorial waters to 12 miles in the Ionian Sea.
Variations from the beginning
It’s inside this context that the 61st spherical of what are diplomatically termed “Investigative Contacts” will happen in Istanbul on January 25.
Nevertheless, the resumption of the dialogue begins with a giant query mark — the totally different beginning factors of the 2 sides about what’s to be mentioned.
Athens will sit on the negotiating desk to debate a single situation, which is the delimitation of maritime zones within the Aegean, as Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has made clear.
Ankara, however, needs to carry a number of points to the desk, such because the demilitarization of Greek islands, grey zones, and airspace within the Aegean.
The Greek Overseas Minister Nikos Dendias underlined in an interview printed on Saturday that Athens goes to the exploratory talks with Turkey in good religion, with a constructive spirit, and with out being provocative.
Points not up for dialogue
He confused, nonetheless, that there are some points which “will not be up for dialogue”, reminiscent of these regarding “nationwide sovereignty and the demilitarization of Greek islands.”
5 years have handed for the reason that final spherical of exploratory talks with Turkey, “which have been really stopped at Turkey’s fault in March 2016,” he famous.
In any case, continued the minister, exploratory talks “will not be negotiations, they’re casual, there aren’t any minutes taken through the conferences, and neither facet has to imagine obligations or make commitments.”
Potential future negotiations with Turkey should give attention to the delimitation of the Unique Financial Zone and the continental shelf within the Aegean and the Jap Mediterranean, based mostly on Worldwide Regulation, confused Dendias.
“If there isn’t a settlement throughout any such negotiations which will comply with the exploratory talks, the 2 sides will then should agree on a joint textual content to be submitted to the Worldwide Court docket of Justice at The Hague”, he underlined.
“We hope that the exploratory talks will result in a de-escalation of tensions,” he added, and that “the Turkish facet will come alongside to those talks in a likeminded spirit.”
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