Turkish moves may signal new tension

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaking astatine the opening of the Diplomatic Forum successful Antalya successful April. Ankara’s determination to codify its territorial claims successful a ‘Blue Homeland bill’ are interpreted by Athens arsenic targeting the home assemblage arsenic well, arsenic successful caller months the absorption has accused the AKP authorities of having a hesitant stance toward Greece. [Umit Bektas/Reuters]

A Turkish government-leaked consultation insubstantial referring to a so-called “Blue Homeland Law” that will presumably beryllium voted connected successful Parliament successful aboriginal June and a insignificant naval incidental – the 4th of its benignant this year – person near officials successful Athens wondering whether Ankara wants to instrumentality to a strategy of tension similar the 1 that prevailed betwixt the two nominal allies earlier February 2023.

The “Blue Homeland Law” would codify Turkey’s claims to maritime economical zones successful the Aegean Sea and the remainder of the Eastern Mediterranean; it would besides enshrine into instrumentality Turkish claims that there beryllium successful the Aegean “gray zones” of disputed oregon undetermined sovereignty, something that Greece has steadfastly refused, referring to planetary treaties, including 1 signed betwixt Turkey and Italy, which then occupied the Dodecanese islands, successful 1932.

Turkey’s doctrine that islands cannot person a maritime zone of their own, oregon a continental shelf, are down its claims to the resources of fractional the Aegean Sea, eastbound of the midpoint betwixt the European and Asian mainlands, and its signing, successful 2019, of a memorandum with the Libyan medication successful Tripoli, of a memorandum demarcating the maritime zones of the two countries.

Turkey and Libya bash not stock a communal border; Greece and Egypt are betwixt them.

Turkey’s oversea claims spell against the United Nations Convention connected the Law of the Sea, successful unit since 1994. Turkey has ne'er ratified the convention.

Of course, home authorities does not prosecute immoderate different planetary actors, though Turkey has officially presented its claims to the UN; which is why Greek officials accidental that the authorities targets mostly a home audience. Opposition parties successful Turkey person accused President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose Islamist AKP enactment is supported successful Parliament by the far-right nationalist MHP, of a soft attack to Greece connected a bid of issues. Thus the unreserved to propulsion the revisionist agenda.

Greek officials person not commented connected the contented of the projected authorities due to the fact that they person not been officially notified.

On Wednesday, a Turkish gunboat contacted a merchant vessel, Ocean Link, which was laying a fibre optic cablegram connected behalf of Greek telecom steadfast Cosmote, betwixt the Greek islands of Astypalaia and Kos, notifying it that it would person to inquire Turkey for support earlier doing so.

Turkey and Greece often contented navigational warnings, often contradictory, covering a swath of the Aegean. On Wednesday, a Greek frigate responded promptly that the country Ocean Link was operating successful is under Greek jurisdiction. The beingness of respective Greek Navy ships successful the area, arsenic portion of a long-announced naval exercise, led the Turkish vessel not to persist.