The most basic thing they overlook in Ankara is that the historic agreements describing the demarcation of the border can not be disputed.
By Antonis Anzoletos
What exactly are the Turks asking for with the story about demilitarization of the Greek islands; In their recent maps, 16 islands have been “reddened”, energizing the climate in view of summer. In 1996, with the crisis of Imia, Turkey had challenged the Greekness of small islands for which there are no explicit references in international treaties, as they are covered by the large islands that are next to them. Moving on to a strong escalation, Lemnos, Samothrace, Chios, Lesvos, Samos, Ikaria, etc. have now entered their sights. They refer to the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923 and the Treaty of Paris of 1947 for the Dodecanese (Turkey did not participate). They claim that these islands were given to Greece on the condition of demilitarization and since this violates their sovereignty can not be taken for granted.
International scholars answer that this is not the case. THE Lemnos and the Samothrace passed into the possession of Greece under the conditions of absolute demilitarization which ended in 1936 with the Treaty of Montreux. The other four islands Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Ikaria took the Greek flag with specific conditions of restriction for naval forts. To be precise, it was stated that “the Greek Government undertook only the obligation, according to article 13 of the Lausanne Peace Treaty, not to establish naval bases or fortifications there”. For the Dodecanese, things are also clear, as Turkey is not a party to the 1947 treaty and as a treaty does not create obligations or rights for third countries. In recent statements with Sergei Lavrov, before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Nikos Dendias had reminded that “the agreement on the demilitarization of the Dodecanese was not about Turkey, but the concern of the then Soviet Union. “Demilitarization was then in favor of it in a treaty in which Turkey had no place.”
The most basic thing, however, that they overlook in Ankara is how the historical agreements describing the demarcation of borders can not be disputed. At the same time, the islands were militarized after 1974, invoking the UN Charter and Article 51, as they were under threat. The Turkish army on the shores of the Aegean, which is not part of NATO with a large number of decisive vessels gives every right to Greece to be ready to defend. To these are added the invasion of Cyprus, the casus belli, the general revisionist tendency of Turkey regarding the territorial and legal status of the Greek islands, as well as the continuous violations of the national airspace even over inhabited islands.
How can Erdogan move from here on out? To continue the provocative and aggressive activity, escalating where he considers that there is suitable ground. That is why the Greek government is ready to respond to any challenge. At the diplomatic level, Ankara’s capabilities are very limited. According to analysts, a possible unilateral appeal by Turkey to the International Court of Justice in The Hague or to the UN Security Council would not have any luck. They could also raise the issue with NATO on the occasion of some exercise being conducted in these areas, however all these moves are of a communicative nature only.
