Greece’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a sharp rebuke to Turkey following statements made by the Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson regarding Greece’s new Special Spatial Planning Framework for Renewable Energy Sources (RES). The dispute comes against the backdrop of maps circulated by Ankara depicting marine parks that encroach on Greek sovereign territory. In an official statement, the Greek Foreign Ministry described Turkey’s claims as unfounded and unacceptable, warning that they “demonstrate a persistent adherence to revisionist positions that have absolutely no legal basis.”
The ministry emphasized that “the sovereignty regime in the Aegean is absolutely clear,” stressing that “Greek sovereignty is defined clearly and definitively by international treaty texts and cannot be challenged,” and that “any other approach is contrary to international law and will be met with an appropriate response.”
Read also: Turkey’s Defense Ministry invokes “gray zones” doctrine: New provocation triggered by Greece’s spatial planning framework for renewable energy sources
Full statement by the Greek Foreign Ministry on Turkey’s objections to the RES spatial planning framework
“Yesterday’s statement by the spokesperson of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the new Special Spatial Planning Framework for Renewable Energy Sources contains a series of completely unfounded, utterly unacceptable and wholly rejectable claims. The repetition — for the second time within a mere twelve days, following Turkey’s corresponding reaction to the Special Spatial Planning Framework for Tourism — of the same baseless claims demonstrates a persistent adherence to revisionist positions that have absolutely no legal basis. The sovereignty regime in the Aegean is absolutely clear. Greek sovereignty is defined clearly and definitively by international treaty texts and cannot be challenged. Any other approach is contrary to international law and will be met with an appropriate response. Greece remains firmly committed to dialogue and good neighbourly relations with Turkey, and continues to be dedicated to resolving the sole Greek-Turkish dispute — that of the delimitation of the continental shelf and Exclusive Economic Zone — in accordance with international law.“
