Turkey has reacted to Greece’s new Special Spatial Framework for Renewable Energy Sources, saying the initiative will have no legal effect on Ankara’s position regarding outstanding Aegean issues.
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli said the framework, which includes the Aegean Sea, “will have, like other similar Greek initiatives, no legal effect” on Turkey. He referred to “interconnected Aegean issues between the two countries, including geographical formations whose ownership,” in Turkey’s view, “has not been transferred to Greece through international agreements.”
Keceli added that “this and similar initiatives will not affect Turkey’s legal position on Aegean issues.”
Greece’s new framework, which entered into force on Wednesday through a ministerial decision, establishes rules for the siting of new renewable energy projects and energy storage facilities, alongside additional measures aimed at protecting the environment, local communities and cultural heritage.
In its response, Ankara said “unilateral actions should be avoided in closed or semi-closed seas like the Aegean and the Mediterranean,” arguing that international maritime law encourages cooperation between coastal states in such waters.
“Turkey, as one of the two coastal states of the Aegean Sea, is always ready to cooperate with Greece,” the spokesperson said.
Keceli also reiterated Ankara’s position that disputes should be addressed through “a sincere and comprehensive approach based on international law, equality and good neighborly relations, within the framework of the Athens Declaration on Friendly Relations and Good-Neighborliness signed on December 7, 2023.”
