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Greece and Albania reached an agreement to refer the issue of maritime zones to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, during the meeting of Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias with the prime minister of the neighboring country, Edi Rama.
Mr. Dendias noted in his post-meeting remarks that “having thoroughly examined the issue, we agreed that Greece and Albania should jointly bring this issue to international justice, at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.”
The information indicates, however, that there has been no co-commitment, which implies a written commitment between the two countries. The question of Albania’s accession to the EU is considered to be a lever of pressure towards Tirana.
The Albanian prime minister affirmed that the war between the two countries must be lifted, while for his part, the Greek chancellor pointed out that Athens is interested in a positive agenda.
As he wrote “K”This is an advance that the Greek side wanted to overcome the abyss of constitutionality that has risen in Albania and since 2009 has been Tirana’s firm excuse to avoid debate. Since the Constitutional Court is not currently functioning in Albania, the stalemate was evident.
On the other hand, on a broader level, it is clear that Ankara does not want to resolve another pending issue between Greece and another neighboring country. A number of worrying Turkish initiatives in neighboring Albania are being observed with interest from Athens, such as, for example, expanding the use of a quay in the port of Avlona for the use of the Turkish navy.
As Athens prepares to promote the expansion of territorial waters in the Ionian Sea from 6 to 12 nautical miles (nm), the possibility of resolving the dispute with Tirana would lead to a comprehensive settlement of maritime zones with all neighboring countries except, of course, Turkey and those – for the moment – tied “hand and foot” with the interests of the Ankara administration in Tripoli in Libya.
