Greece Declares Turkish 'Marine Parks' Illegal, Citing International Law Violations

Greece has strongly condemned Turkey's recent declaration of two "national marine parks" in the northeastern Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, labeling the move illegal and a violation of international law. The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that these parks extend beyond Turkish territorial waters, encroaching on international waters and the Greek continental shelf.

Athens asserts that Turkey lacks the right to unilaterally establish marine protected areas outside its national jurisdiction, according to the Law of the Sea. Furthermore, Greece argues that the declared parks are also illegal insofar as they overlap with the Greek continental shelf, asserting that such actions produce no legal effect and do not impact Greece's sovereign rights.

The Greek ministry emphasized that Turkey's unilateral establishment of these parks cannot create faits accomplis or affect rights derived from international law. In contrast, Greece has initiated its own national marine parks in the Ionian and Aegean Seas, strictly adhering to the Law of the Sea and confining them within Greek territorial waters.

Greece warns that actions attempting to create faits accomplis or unilaterally alter the status of maritime zones in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean undermine good neighborly relations and regional stability. The ministry affirmed Greece's commitment to consistently and decisively protect its sovereign rights, freedoms of the high seas, and the marine environment in accordance with international law.

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The Turkish move is illegal... the decision cannot create faits accomplis nor affect Greek sovereign rights.