Relations between Turkey and Greece continue to deteriorate. Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis (Kyriákos Mitsotákis) was asked to call an emergency meeting of the EU Council on Friday. Athens accused Ankara that it “threatens the world” in the Eastern Mediterranean. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sent to the waters of the Greek island of kastellorizo seismic vessel. According to geographer and former diplomat Michel Foucher, “this once again demonstrates the “revisionist policy" of Turkey, directed to withdraw from all international treaties, including law of the sea”.
the “liberation”: in Accordance with international law, can Turkey steer the ship for seismic surveys on the continental shelf of Greece?
Michel Foucher: Definitely not. The continental shelf is the exclusive economic zone and sending Turkish ships was contrary to international Maritime law. But today Ankara adheres to the policy of the revisionist calling into question the law of the sea and the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923, [which replaced the Treaty of Sevres in 1920, defining the borders of Turkey formed after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, and establishing the exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey]. We should not forget that the current geopolitical configuration of the Aegean sea is the result of a Treaty negotiated and adopted in due time by both parties. These Islands are Greek, because the two million people living in Asia Minor were forcibly resettled in Greece. In exchange for giving the Greeks from the coast of Asia Minor, Turkey recognized their sovereignty over the Islands of the Aegean sea.
the — What Erdogan expects from the Greeks?
— The President of Turkey realized the need for monitoring of issues related to the oceans, because the number of discoveries of gas fields in the South-Eastern part of the Mediterranean sea is increasing. His goal is to force Greeks to abandon the continental shelf and the economic zones around the Islands from a position of strength. Here a curious agreement which he made with the government of Tripoli in November, when they shared areas of the Eastern Mediterranean excluding Athens. What Egypt and Greece, said the signing of the August 6 agreement on their Maritime boundaries.
the — These agreements have the force of law?
— From a legal point of view, the first agreement, in accordance with the UN Convention on the law of the sea 1982 not ratified by Turkey] is invalid. The delimitation undertaken by the government of national unity Fayeza Zarraga and Ankara, excludes the territory of the Greek island between the Turkish and Libyan coasts. This process is reminiscent of Beijing’s policy towards the South China sea like Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines or Indianesie does not exist. And the agreement between Athens and Cairo is fully consistent with international Maritime law.
the — How the international community can force Turkey to comply with the law of the sea?
— It should not take the incident as a fait accompli, and to create an almost military balance in the Eastern Mediterranean to organize a consultation. Exactly what did the President of France Emmanuel macron, increasing military presence in the region. He dispatched two fighter Rafale and two frigates of the national fleet of Franzia and called on Greece and Turkey (NATO members) to start negotiations.
In addition to inaction and war there is the development of diplomatic contacts. Now the EU needs to mobilize all forces to stop Erdogan, not allowing him to make a mistake. It is a very serious crisis that may lead to incidents.
Macron also criticized the “violation” of the sovereignty of Cyprus by Turkey…
This long-standing conflict with the Turkish invasion of Northern Cyprus in 1974. In this case, Ankara challenges the island’s own territorial waters.
the — How to explain such expansion strategy in Turkey?
— Erdogan is pursuing a revisionist policy, which is withdrawal from all international treaties with the purpose of redistribution of spheres of influence. Which he does by questioning the Treaty of Lausanne. It is “his neo-Ottoman vision” project, the last characters of which was the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque in the former capital of the Byzantine Empire. Other resurgent powers such as Russia, Iran and China, adhere to the same logic and want to impose new neonationalist the world. Moreover, the versatility of lost American leadership, and these modes of experiencing internal difficulties, so the only way out of this is the rise of nationalism.
