Turkey has established two marine parks by presidential decree, one in the eastern Mediterranean and one in the northern Aegean. The first extends beyond six nautical miles, between Kastellorizo and Rhodes, while the second lies in international waters between Samothrace and Lemnos.
The move is seen as Ankara’s response to Greece’s declaration last year of two marine parks in the southern Aegean and the Ionian Sea, both within Greek territorial waters.
Continental shelf: the seabed and subsoil extending beyond a country’s coast, where it has exclusive rights over natural resources.
According to the newspaper To Vima, Ankara is using an environmental protection issue to advance its disputed claims over maritime zones. Turkey maintains that Greek islands do not have sovereign rights beyond six nautical miles and that the continental shelf should be delimited based on the two countries’ mainland coasts, effectively dividing the Aegean in half.
Greece says the move challenges its sovereign rights. The Foreign Ministry said the establishment of the parks is illegal and has no legal effect, either in international waters or on Greece’s sovereign rights over its continental shelf.
Sources: Kathimerini, To Vima, News247
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