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Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu warned on Saturday that any action by Greece to expand its territorial waters along the eastern coasts to Turkey will be considered a cause of war, the DPA said.
“They cannot expand [apele teritoriale] 12 miles in the Aegean Sea, “Cavusoglu said, referring to the sea that separates the two countries.
“This is a reason for war or casus belli,” the Turkish diplomat added in an interview with local radio station A Haber, citing a 1995 statement to the Ankara parliament.
Turkey and Greece have 6 nautical miles of territorial waters in the Aegean Sea, where there are several Greek islands located near Turkish territory.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister’s warning is a reaction to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s announcement this week that his country’s territorial waters will extend 6 to 12 nautical miles (11 to 22 kilometers) along its coasts. Westerners. , to Italy. Mitsotakis said his country could consider expanding territorial waters to other maritime areas.
“It is not our problem if they extend 12 km into the Ionian Sea … but our position in the Aegean Sea is extremely clear,” added Cavusoglu.
“If this is not a reason for war, then what is?” Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay warned on Saturday.
The Greek Foreign Ministry reacted to the remarks, saying that Turkey’s strategy of threatening war with its neighbors because it is trying to fulfill its legal rights “contradicts international political culture.”
Turkish and Greek warships monitor each other and organize exercises in the eastern Mediterranean.
Earlier this month, a Turkish frigate collided with a Greek ship in the region near a Turkish inspection ship.
Greece and the European Union consider Turkey’s oil exploration in the area illegal. However, Ankara claims to operate in its own exclusive economic zone.
Amid mounting tensions, the EU threatened Ankara with sanctions on Friday.
