Gerapetritis: Greece will inform neighbors about cable project under international law, but will not seek Turkey’s permission
Translated from Greek and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
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- Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis said Greece will notify vessels and neighboring states through NAVTEX notices about the European cable project.
- He said the project passes through the Greek continental shelf and an undelimited exclusive economic zone, so Turkey’s permission is not required.
- Gerapetritis said Greece and Turkey have reduced tensions through a communication channel, but cannot achieve lasting calm without delimiting their maritime zones.
Greece will notify ships and neighboring states about the European cable research and installation project, but it will not ask Turkey for permission, Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis said.
Speaking on the “15 Minutes” program with journalist Giorgos Papachristos, Gerapetritis said international law requires notification procedures. Athens is following those procedures through NAVTEX notices issued to passing vessels and neighboring countries for safety reasons.
The project passes through the Greek continental shelf and an undelimited exclusive economic zone.
He said the project is licensed by Greece and lies within its maritime jurisdiction. The cable route crosses the Greek continental shelf and an undelimited exclusive economic zone, he said, rejecting the suggestion that a French company’s notification to Turkey could amount to indirect recognition of Turkish rights.
The Turks say there are more issues, which are linked to this matter.
The project has brought the question of maritime delimitation back into focus. Gerapetritis said international law requires countries with opposite coastlines to discuss delimitation. Greece maintains that its sole dispute with Turkey concerns the delimitation of exclusive economic zones and continental shelves, while Turkey argues that other issues are linked to the matter.
He said the two countries remain far from agreeing on a joint submission to resolve the dispute through the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Gerapetritis argued that the court’s case law supports Greece’s positions, while Turkey disputes that interpretation and has not ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
In the three years that we have had this channel of communication with Turkey, we have managed to reduce tensions, violations and irregular migration flows.
Despite the differences, he said three years of communication had reduced tensions, violations and irregular migration flows. The Athens Declaration produced positive results in some areas but not others, he said, while allowing Greece and Turkey to establish a specific process for cooperation. Gerapetritis also acknowledged that relations would never be completely calm without maritime delimitation, saying only then could the region achieve lasting peace. He urged former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras to pair his criticism of the government’s foreign policy with self-criticism, citing 25 agreements Samaras signed during a 2013 visit to Turkey.
There will never be complete calm in our relations if we do not delimit our maritime zones. Only then will we have lasting peace in our region.
About this summary
Originally published by Ta Nea in Greek. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.
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