DEAL WITH EGYPT PROVES GREECE’S MARITIME CLAIMS UNLAWFUL
GREECE has disproven its own thesis by signing a maritime deal with Egypt in the Eastern Mediterranean, according to associate professor Cihat Yaycı, head of Maritime and Global Strategies Center at Bahçeşehir University. He said it was unlawful for Athens to claim maritime jurisdiction with just a total of 167 kilometers (103 miles) of coastline in the region against Turkey’s 1,870 kilometerlong coast. He noted that the Egypt-Greece deal can’t override the Turkey-Libya deal. Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Yaycı said the agreement was signed to block Turkey and Libya’s maritime neighborhood.
“Greece is not our interlocutor in the Eastern Mediterranean. We have no problems. It is only a matter of Greece requesting a part of our rightful marine space,” Yaycı said, adding that Athens renounced by 50% the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) it previously envisaged for the islands of Rhodes and Crete, disproving its own thesis that islands are entitled to their own maritime jurisdiction area.
Yaycı continued by saying that Egypt does not accept Greece’s claims about the island of Kastellorizo having its own EEZ or continental shelf, and did not include it in the deal.
“The same way it is unacceptable in terms of Turkey’s maritime rights and interests for Greece to draw straight lines between Crete and Rhodes as if there is no sea between them to establish coastal waters and create an EEZ starting from this line, it is also against international maritime law and is a violation of the law,” Yaycı said, adding that the Egypt-Greece agreement is invalid.
“Greece has fooled Egypt by utilizing its diplomatic cunningness and has used it as a tool for its unlawful activities,” the professor added. Referring to the example of Spain and Morocco, Yaycı said Spain has islands near the Moroccan coast but takes the mainland as a reference to determine maritime jurisdiction, by respecting Morocco’s maritime law, contrary to what Greece has been doing.
Yaycı continued by saying that Turkey should continue to follow a proactive strategy and announce its EEZ, as he noted that the Greek calls for EU sanctions on Turkey do not have a legal basis.
Yaycı, who recently retired from the military as a rear admiral, is known as the architect of the deal between Ankara and Tripoli.