By Penelope Galliou
Athens insists on following the institutional path of International Law in the face of the aggressive frenzy of Turkey, which continues to escalate its provocation towards our country. In the ongoing and escalating provocation of Turkey, Greece responds with a letter to the UN, focusing on Ankara’s distorted and unfounded accusations of the obligation to demilitarize the Greek islands, but also on the growing Turkish overflights and violations. In the letter, Greece calls on Turkey to stop questioning its sovereignty over the Aegean islands, to refrain from the threat of use of force, thus violating Article 2 (4) of the UN Charter, and to stop carrying out illegal actions. which violate the sovereignty and sovereign rights of Greece in the Aegean and in the Eastern Mediterranean. According to the letter, “These practices, which suggest a spirit of revisionism, are completely outside the basic framework of relations between states, as defined by the UN Charter, and pose a serious threat to peace and security in the region.” At the same time, Mevlüt Çavuşoλουlu returns to the issue of the demilitarization of the Greek islands, distorting the reality once again and distorting the history itself.
The letter to the UN
Following the instructions of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias, the Permanent Representative of Greece to the UN, Maria Theofili delivered letter to the Secretary-General of the Agencyin response to a relevant letter addressed by the Turkish Permanent Representative to the UN on September 30, 2021.
With this letter, which is the product of many months of thorough work by the competent services of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, all the allegations of the Turkish side are rejected in their entirety, as they are legally, historically and factually unfounded.
Specifically, the whole of the Turkish argument regarding the “interconnection” of the Greek sovereignty of the islands and the adjacent Aegean islands with the alleged obligation of demilitarization of these islands is rejected.
It is emphasized that this interconnection is a clear violation of both the letter and the spirit of the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923 and the Treaty of Paris of 1947, which define permanent borders and territorial rights in the countries mentioned, without any other terms or obligations.
It is emphasized that according to international law, when states conclude a treaty defining borders or territorial sovereignty, their main purpose is to achieve stability and finality. For this reason, when a treaty defines a border or a definitive territorial settlement, that settlement is a real event in itself, which no longer depends on the treaty.
Defining a border is an autonomous reality and creates permanence.
On the contrary, the Greek letter emphasizes, the Turkish unilateral objections are clearly undermining regional peace and security.
At the same time, it is emphasized that these islands, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Article 121 (2), have rights to territorial waters, an exclusive economic zone and a continental shelf.
In this context, Greece rejects in its entirety the relevant objections of Turkey.
The letter also rejects in its entirety Turkey’s objections to the demilitarization of the Aegean islands, stressing that these objections, which are not legally motivated but have purely political motives, further fuel the instability caused by Turkey through its actions. .
There is also a clear reference to the escalation of Turkey’s aggression, invoking casus belli, as well as the deployment of a large number of military forces against the Aegean islands.
At the same time, the criminal behavior of Turkey is pointed out with particularly threatening actions, both with the overflights of Greek territory, as well as with the harassment of Navy ships and research vessels.
The letter concludes by saying that Greece calls on Turkey to stop questioning its sovereignty over the Aegean islands, to refrain from the threat of use of force, thus violating Article 2 (4) of the UN Charter, and to stop carrying out illegal actions. , which violate the sovereignty and sovereign rights of Greece in the Aegean and in the Eastern Mediterranean.
These practices, which suggest a spirit of revisionism, are completely outside the basic framework of relations between states, as defined by the UN Charter, and pose a serious threat to peace and security in the region.
Finally, it is pointed out that Greece remains convinced that the two countries can resolve their only difference, namely the definition of the Continental Shelf and the Exclusive Economic Zone, in the context of good neighborly relations and always on the basis of International Law.
New crescendo against Greece by Tsavousoglou
“Before Alector cries three” and the ink of the Greek letter to the UN dries up, the Turkish Foreign Minister returned to the issue of demilitarization of the Greek islands, insisting on distorting reality and distorting history itself.
“We are talking very seriously about the islands, we are not bluffing,” said Mevlüt Tsavousoglou, launching new threats against Greece, claiming that “it is against international law for Greece to violate the status of islands given to it conditionally in the context of peace.” the 1923 Lausanne Accords and the 1947 Paris Agreements, “he said, adding, however, that Turkey was not a party to the Paris Agreement and could not rely on it.
“Whatever excuse Greece finds, it does not apply. What are the terms? It will not militarize these islands. Greece has been militarizing them since 1960 and we said that if it does not stop, the debate on their sovereignty will begin, it is very clear … We are extremely serious, we do not bluff. Because these islands were granted conditionally. “If Greece refers to international law in every speech, but does not comply with it, we will go further,” said the Turkish Foreign Minister.
Annoyed by the recent visit of the Greek Prime Minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoλουlu insisted on taking a stand against Washington, accusing it of a discriminatory attitude towards Greece and Cyprus, and referring to his meeting with Anthony Blinken, openly told the United States: had a policy of balance both in Cyprus and in Turkey – Greece and the Aegean islands. “We see a departure from that balance, we told US Secretary of State Blinken, we issued a warning.”
The discontent also remains for the US bases in Greece with the Turkish Foreign Minister pointing out that “Although the Americans said that the bases in one NATO member country do not pose a threat to another NATO country, this increase (of the bases) does not escaped our attention “.
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