It is true that historical reasons and the considerable differences of opinion between the two countries as to international legality, with Turkey repeatedly taking unilateral steps to revise the international legal status of the Aegean and to break up the Republic of Cyprus provide for a contentious context in Greek-Turkish relations. 

Mindful of these lasting problems Greece has adopted a bold approach in her relations with Turkey, aimed at moving towards a climate of good neighbourliness governed by international law.  In 1999 a process of rapprochement was inaugurated on a bilateral level and within the context of Turkeys European prospects, which Greece staunchly supports.

If Turkey adopts a position in accordance with international law and the principles of good neighbourliness and reconciliation on which the European Union is based, bilateral relations will steadily improve, which will help to overcome once and for all the conflicts of the past.

• What are the points of friction in Greek-Turkish relations?

Since 1973 Turkey has contested Greeces sovereign rights and sought to revise the legal status of the Aegean.  More specifically, Turkey contests the following:

a) The Greek islands right to a continental shelf (see text), despite the fact that this is categorically provided for under international law.

b) Greek sovereignty over islands and islets, asserting the novel idea of grey zones (see text). Turkey displays revisionist tendencies towards International Treaties that determine the status of the Aegean.  She maintains that only those islands and islets in the Aegean expressly mentioned by name in the Treaties belong to Greek territory, deliberately ignoring the clear provisions of the Treaty of Lausanne.

c) The extent of Greek Air Space (see text).  Turkish fighter planes violate Greek Air Space on a daily basis and Turkey refuses to submit air flight plans for military aircraft within the Athens FIR.  This is in violation of ICAO rules on civil and military coordination for the safety of international air traffic.

d) Greeces right, according to the International Law of the Sea (Contractual and Customary law) to extend her territorial waters to 12 nautical miles (see text). This contestation goes hand in hand with a declaration of casus belli should Greece exercise her legal rights.

e) The military status of the islands of the Eastern Aegean (see text).

It goes without saying that Greek-Turkish relations are negatively affected by Turkey contesting all of these issues, to which Greece consistently responds in invocation of international law.

• What is Greeces position on these points of tension?

Continental Shelf (see detailed text)

Greece considers that the delimitation of the Continental Shelf is the only legal issue between the two countries and consequently seeks its settlement in Court.

The issue involves delimitation of the Continental Shelf at two specific points. Firstly, the underwater prolongation of the Thracian border, and secondly the islands in the Northern and Eastern Aegean which lie off the Turkish coast and the Dodecanese areas which were covered in the past by Turkish oil exploration permits and not the whole of the Aegean continental shelf as wrongly claimed ex post by Turkey.

Moreover, as is clearly provided for under international law and relevant jurisprudence (1958 Geneva Convention, 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1969 International Court Ruling on the Delimitation of the Continental Shelf in the North Sea), islands are fully entitled to a Continental Shelf despite unfounded legal arguments by Turkey to the contrary.

Grey Zones (see detailed text)

Turkish officials developed the novel theory of grey zones in the early 90s. This reinterpretation of international treaties challenges Greek sovereignty over a series of islands, islets and atolls in the Aegean.  More specifically, Turkey maintains that Greek sovereignty extends only to those Aegean islands expressly mentioned in the Treaties whereby these islands were ceded to Greece.

However, the international legal framework under which issues of sovereignty in the area were settled after the World Wars (1923 Lausanne Treaty, 1947 Paris Treaty), is absolutely clear and irrefutable.

Imia Islets (see detailed text)

The legal status of the islands and islets of the Aegean is absolutely clear.  Greek sovereignty over the Imia islets emanates clearly from international treaties, i.e. the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, the 1947 Treaty of Paris and the Italo-Turkish Agreements of 1932.

 More specifically:

The Treaty of Lausanne (Article 15) ceded the Imia islets and all the Dodecanese islands to Italy.  Moreover, according to Articles 12 and 16, Turkey ceded all sovereign rights to all those islands more than three miles off the Asiatic coast, apart from Imvros, Tenedos and Rabbit islands.  Consequently, she ceded all sovereign rights over the Imia islets too, since they lie 3.7 miles off the Turkish coast.

-The Italo-Turkish Agreements of 1932 delimited the territorial waters of the two countries between Anatolia and the Dodecanese islands.  Point 30 of the second (supplementary) Protocol (28.12.1932) categorically refers to the Imia islets as the point of Italian sovereignty from which the maritime border between Italy and Turkey shall be calculated.

- Under the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty (Article 14), sovereignty of the Dodecanese islands, including the Imia islets was ceded by Italy to Greece.  In other words, Greece succeeded Italy as sovereign power over the Dodecanese islands.

This legal argument is completed by the continuous de facto and peaceful exercise of sovereignty over the Imia islets by Greece since 1947, without this ever having been contested by Turkey until the 1995-6 crisis.

Territorial Waters Air Space ( see detailed text)

Greek territorial waters extend 6 nautical miles from the natural coastline.  In certain cases this may be less than 6 nautical miles upon implementation of the rule of the median line or similar contractual provisions.

According to international law, both customary and contractual, Greece has the right to extend her territorial waters to 12 nautical miles.  During ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Greece made a statement to the effect that the time and place of exercising these rights, without this in any way signifying Greece ceding these rights, is a matter based on national strategy. Article 2 of Law 2321/ 1995 ratifying the Convention on the Law of the Sea, states that Greece has the inalienable right according to Article 3 of the ratified Convention to extend her territorial waters to up to 12 nautical miles at any point in time.

Greece also has a coastal zone of 10 nautical miles for Air and Police Force issues established by Presidential Decree 6/18 (September 1931) on the determination of the extent of territorial waters for issues of the Air and Police Forces. (Government Gazette A 325).

It should also be pointed out that Greece, in accordance with international practice, notified this legislation on her national air space without delay, in order for it to have legal effect at international level, and more specifically in respect of neighbouring countries.

FIR Search and Rescue Areas (see detailed text)

Athens FIR (Flight Information Region)

Greeces position is that for reasons related to the effective implementation of the rules and decisions of the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) and more particularly for the safety of international air traffic within the Athens FIR, Turkey is required to submit flight plans. Turkey, however, which until 1975 submitted such plans for all her aircraft, now only submits them (apart of course for her civil aircraft), when she is seeking diplomatic authorisation for state aircraft to over-fly Greece on route to another country, and never for the flights of her military aircraft within international air space over the Aegean. The Hellenic Air Force intercepts all aircraft entering Athens FIR that have not submitted a flight plan, for the purpose of recognition of unknown aircraft, in accordance with ICAO practice.

Search and Rescue (see detailed text)

The ICAO Treaty and Regulations govern search and rescue for air accidents.  The Greek area of search and rescue in the event of an air accident has been designated according to a regional agreement within ICAO (1952) and corresponds to the Athens FIR.

The 1979 Hamburg Convention which was adopted within the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and came into force in 1985 determines issues of search and rescue at sea.  In accordance with the convention, the areas of responsibility of the contracting parties for the provision of search and rescue services in the event of an accident at sea are regulated through agreements by the coastal states concerned.

On signing the Convention, Greece stated that her area of responsibility for search and rescue at sea corresponded to the Athens FIR, as notified in 1975 to the IMOs predecessor, the Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organisation.  During ratification of the Convention in 1989, Greece repeated to the IMO that the Greek area of responsibility for accidents at sea corresponded to the Athens FIR.  This reflects geographical and political reality in the area and provides the most effective services for the protection of human life, and is general practice internationally, in accordance with IMO and ICAO provisions.

Military Regime of the Islands of the Eastern Aegean (see detailed text)

The military status of the Greek islands in the Eastern Aegean is not uniform and is governed by various International Agreements: The islands of Limnos and Samothrace are covered by the 1923 Lausanne Convention on the Straits, later replaced by the 1936 Montreux Convention.  The islands of Mytilene, Chios, Samos and Ikaria are covered by the 1923 Lausanne Peace Treaty and the Dodecanese by the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty.

Turkey is the only country seeking the demilitarisation of the islands of the Eastern Aegean without distinction, purposely ignoring the fact that these Greek islands are governed by different armament regimes.  

More specifically:

1.Limnos and Samothrace

The demilitarisation of the Greek islands of Limnos and Samothrace, along with the demilitarisation of the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara, and the Bosphorus, as well as the Turkish islands of Imvros (Gokceada), Tenedos (Bozcaada) and Rabbit (Tavcan) was originally stipulated by the 1923 Lausanne Convention on the Straits abolished by the 1936 Montreux Convention- which states categorically in its preamble that it replaces in its entirety the above-mentioned Lausanne Convention.

2. The Status of the Islands of Mytilene, Chios, Samos and Ikaria

For the above-mentioned islands, nowhere in the Lausanne Peace Treaty does it state that they should be demilitarised.  The Greek government only undertakes in accordance with Article 13 of the Lausanne Peace Treaty not to establish naval bases or fortifications.

The same article however permits Greece to station a normal contingent called up for military service, which can be trained on the spot, as well as a force of gendarmerie and police.

This apart, it is also very important to point out that like all countries the world over Greece has never ceded her
natural right to defence in the event of a threat against her islands or any other part of her territory, given that there is sufficient proof that, over the last decades Turkey has acted in such an inconsistent way in violation of the provisions of the United Nations Charter.

3. The Status of the Islands of the South-Eastern  Aegean (Dodecanese)

The Dodecanese islands were ceded to Greece in full sovereignty by the Paris Peace Treaty between Italy and the Allies in April 1947. Despite the fact that the provisions of this Treaty provide for the demilitarisation of these islands: (These islands shall be and shall remain demilitarised), there are certain National Guard troops on the Dodecanese islands that have been declared in accordance with CFE provisions. Turkey, however, is not entitled to invoke the Treaty of Paris, to which she is not a contracting party, particularly not since the particular provision was established thanks to the then Soviet Union within the context of the Cold War. Moreover, the relevant limitations on certain Italian islands, the then West and East Germany, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary, were long since abolished. This apart, Greece has never and indeed could never surrender her right to legitimate defence, which also applies to the case of the Dodecanese.   

•   What is Greek-Turkish Rapprochement?

Greek-Turkish Rapprochement (see detailed text)

Greek-Turkish cooperation is being developed over a broad range of sectors and aims at establishing a climate of trust and cooperation.  This rapprochement is set within a systematic framework governed by a considerable number of bilateral agreements in areas of mutual interest, such as cultural relations, tourism, environment, combating crime, economic and trade relations, energy, agriculture and dealing with natural disasters.

Confidence-building measures (CBMs) have been agreed upon between the two countries, aimed at establishing a climate of trust and generally improving Greek-Turkish relations.  This is happening at the level of Political Directors for a broad range of activities, such as exchange visits between cadets from the Military Academies, cooperation on issues of telemedicine, prevention of pollution of the Evros River, et al., and also within NATO (mutual notification of national exercises to avoid overlap, cooperation between National Defence Schools, exchange of personnel between the Partnership for Peace Centres in Kilkis and Ankara).

Finally, at the level of the Foreign Ministry Senior Officials, exploratory contacts are taking place to find a framework of principles acceptable to both sides to solve the issue of the delimitation of the Aegean Continental Shelf.

• How does Turkeys accession course affect Greek-Turkish Relations?

Greek-Turkish relations in view of Turkeys accession course (see detailed text)

Greece supports Turkeys European prospects but underlines the fact that the pace and outcome of this course depend on Turkey herself, her adaptation to the European context and chiefly the fulfilment by Turkey of the Copenhagen criteria in their entirety.

In paragraph 20 of the European Councils Conclusions a European framework is established for Turkeys behaviour towards her neighbours. The obligation incumbent upon Turkey to maintain relations of good neighbourliness is clearly underscored.  It is also clearly stressed that any outstanding border differences must be settled by peaceful means, in accordance with the United Nations Founding Charter, including the possibility, if deemed necessary, of recourse to the International Court in The Hague. These commitments have been included in the new EU-Turkey Partnership Agreement, as well as in the Negotiating Framework, which establishes the terms of conduct for accession negotiations with Turkey.

• What are the prospects for Greek-Turkish Relations? The Greek View

Greece is a steadfast supporter of Turkeys accession course, the rhythm and outcome of which will chiefly depend on Turkey herself.  Greece actively supports the political and social reforms undertaken by the Turkish government to this end. She also expects Turkey to adopt international conduct in accordance with the principles of good neighbourliness and reconciliation on which the European Union resides, and more specifically with the rules, principles and values of the European family.

She hopes that Turkeys rapprochement with Europe and the deepening and widening of bilateral cooperation along with the frank exchange of views between the two countries through constant and constructive dialogue will create the preconditions for the fastest possible normalisation of bilateral relations.