Greece says wants to discuss maritime zones with Turkey - REUTERS

October 29, 2021, 4:29 PM EEST

ATHENS, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Greece said it would be willing to agree with Turkey on demlimiting their respective economic zones at sea, urging its neighbour to tone down what it said were tensions harming Ankara's ties with the EU.

The two neighbours, allies in NATO, are at odds over a number of issues from commercial rights in the Aegean to territorial waters and the ethnically-split island of Cyprus.

"My door is always open, but this dialogue presupposes a reduction in unnecessary tensions," Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said after meeting German Acting Chancellor Angela Merkel who was visiting Athens.

"Greece has signed agreements defining exclusive economic zones with neighbouring countries like Italy, Egypt. There is no reason why we cannot do it with Turkey, provided that the tensions be toned down, and realise that such an approach would be eventually beneficial to both countries," Mitsotakis said.

Factbox: Greece’s territorial waters and Turkey - KATHIMERINI

10.11.2018 : 17:35

Angelos Syrigos

Following his resignation from the post of foreign minister, Nikos Kotzias said that Greece was ready to extend its territorial waters in the Ionian Sea to 12 nautical miles. This came as surprise to Greece’s political parties and drew a strong reaction from Turkey, which claimed that any extension of Greece’s territorial waters in the Aegean would be considered a casus belli. Here I would like to examine some of the most important questions related to a possible extension of Greek territorial waters.

What are territorial waters?

Territorial waters (also known as territorial sea) are a belt of sea adjacent to the shores of a state. This zone includes the water column, seabed below and airspace above it. States have full sovereignty in this area. The only restriction to this sovereignty is the right of innocent passage enjoyed by all ships without prior notification of the coastal state. Since the 1970s, all coastal states in the world (except Greece) have expanded their territorial waters to 12 nautical miles. This customary rule is stipulated by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

CYPRUS: Greece and Turkey fire warning shots over East Med energy plans - FINANCIAL MIRROR

EEZ delineation as per UNCLOS

26 October, 2018

A war of words between Athens and Ankara over East Med energy plans and territorial waters intensified on Friday when Turkey responded defiantly to a rebuke from Greece.

Continuing the row with with Greece over energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean, Turkey on Friday said it would “continue to act in line with the equitable principles and all relevant special circumstances” in delimiting maritime jurisdiction.

“On the delimitation of maritime jurisdiction areas, Turkey will, as it has to date, continue to act in line with the equitable principles and all relevant special circumstances,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said.

He was responding to a Greek Foreign Ministry statement saying it would not be dictated to by Turkey on what it decides to do.

“There is no advice that we would take from Greece over the delimitation techniques within the framework of international law,” Aksoy added.