Kiev. Ukraine. Ukraine Gate – January 22, 2021 – International News
The Greek parliament almost unanimously voted in favor of the government’s proposal to expand the country’s territorial waters in the Ionian Sea from 6 to 12 nautical miles.
And now its western maritime borders are in close proximity to Italy, and its northern borders with Albania. At the same time, Athens has yet to settle with Tirana the issue of new borders in this part of the Ionian Sea in the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
The media report that 16 members of parliament abstained during the vote. Apparently, they remember that in 1995, the Turkish parliament warned that any unilateral expansion of borders by neighbors would be a reason to declare war. However, a lot of water has surfaced since then, and now to fight, to put it mildly, is not fashionable. Moreover, Turkey has also unilaterally expanded its territorial waters in the Mediterranean.
It is important to note that these actions by Turkey, and now by Greece, do not contradict the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which was adopted in 1994.
But Greece took such a step just before the opening of the 61st round of preliminary talks with Turkey, which is scheduled for Monday, January 25, in Istanbul. At the meeting of diplomats, the parties planned to begin preparing the ground for a “fair, strong and comprehensive “solution to controversial issues in the Aegean Sea. The current decision of the Greek parliament does not affect the interests of Turkey, but is an unequivocal signal – such an expansion will set a precedent for such a step in the east. Moreover, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsitakis told parliament: “We will pursue a tough foreign policy. And this is our clear message to those who are trying to deprive the country of such a right.”
Many analysts who are monitoring the difficult Turkish-Greek relations say that the forthcoming talks in Istanbul will be held in high tones, and the parties are unlikely to move at least one step forward. The main thing is not to get to what the Turkish parliament warned 26 years ago.
