The reaction of Turkey after the rather surprising mid-Week announcement by the Greek government on maritime spatial planning came as a surprise to Athens. Both the neighbor’s reference to Greece‘s unilateral actions and the announcement of the submission of the corresponding Turkish map to international organizations such as UNESCO and the UN, had already been discussed behind the closed doors of the Kysea, which met yesterday under the prime minister at the Maximos Mansion.

According to protothema.gr, after the first briefing given to the participants of the body by George Gerapetritis and Stavros Papastavrou, the foreign minister outlined the potential ways of the neighbour’s reaction. In fact, Mr. Gerapetritis stressed that Turkey would somehow seek to “legitimize” its own map in an international forum, even if it is essentially unauthorized, as Greece submits the respective maps to the European Commission, based on the Community obligation.

Government sources believe that Turkey has emitted in “predictable” tones, while the same sources point out that Ankara did not fall from the clouds for the submission of the Greek maps, as it knew both the Greek positions and our contractual obligation towards the European Union. However, the reference in the Turkish Foreign Ministry’s statement to the Athens Declaration and the need to resolve disputes on the basis of international law and good neighbourly relations makes Athens believe that the Turks will not “overreact” on the ground.

“We are closing pending issues without communication flares”

“The government is closing loose ends of the past. It is defending national interests in practice and in a meaningful way, not with communication flares,” government sources said, responding to criticism from opposition parties about the delay in filing the relevant maps in previous years, resulting in our condemnation by the European Court of Justice.

At the Maximos Mansion they also note a political “freeze”, especially on the right of the Southwestern party, for another move in the direction of the mapping of Greece’s sovereignty and sovereign rights in the seas surrounding the country’s mainland. “It is the first time that the furthest potential limits of the Greek continental shelf are reflected in an EU regulatory text,” sources said, citing the evidence of the full extent of the mainland and islands’ maritime zones.

From the government, they point out that the delineation in the undefined areas has been done on the basis of the median line principle, according to the international law of the sea, which of course does not mean that this map constitutes delimitation of shelf and EEZ. The map includes the two agreements with Italy and Egypt, but in the case of a new agreement with, say, Egypt or Turkey, the mapping will differ. By definition, after all, the delimitation of maritime zones has a different scope from maritime spatial planning.

The definition of the sea area is in fact a separate subject matter from that of other areas.

The dialogue

In any case, the submission of the map in question will not facilitate the Greek-Turkish dialogue, no matter how much the government wants to “keep the ball down”. As a matter of fact, the High Cooperation Council that Mr. Gerapetritis and Mr. Fidan have agreed to hold after Easter has by no means been determined and it seems rather difficult in this environment to hold it immediately.

On the other hand, the government does not want the “calm waters” to “churn” dangerously in view of the summer. “Just because we disagree doesn’t mean we don’t discuss. The fact that we are discussing does not mean that we are discounting our positions and this is proven in practice,” government sources point out, almost monotonously.

Notably, senior government sources are attempting to disconnect the maritime spatial planning from the discussion on the Great Sea Interconnector cable, which was not discussed at the government meeting yesterday and has been referred to “in due course.”