“According to our legal analysis, which was completed after receiving all the Ankara-Tripolis Memorandum, we believe that the inhabited islands should have the same treatment as the mainland”.
Pyatt’s statement can be interpreted as a verdict of the US State Department, which points out that the inhabited Greek islands, such as Kastelorizo, Kassos and of course Rhodes and Crete, have full influence on the maritime zones around them, contrary to what Turkey argues.
In fact, the right to designate maritime zones has nothing to do with the extent of the island’s coastline or whether or not they are adjacent to neighboring countries. Their right to full influence in the maritime zones is as strong as that of the mainland.
US ambassador to Athens Jeffrey Pyatt said this while speaking to Greek journalists and stressed that the US wants to see the eastern Mediterranean as an area of stability and cooperation.
At the same time, a State Department source in Athens said Washington’s hope is to find a positive agenda for the eastern Mediterranean as the region’s stability is at the top of US policy.
The same source, while avoiding commenting on the stance the US will hold on a possible Greece-Turkey military stand-off, said the US is already present in Greece and gave the example of the presence of one of the US NAVY’s largest nuclear submarines being deployed already in Souda Bay, Crete.
