By Gifts Antoniou

In his speech yesterday in Nice, France, as part of the 3rd UN Conference on the Oceans, the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakisafter announcing that Athens is ready to launch the procedures for the creation of two new national maritime parks, he made anything but accidental: “For the protection and safety of our oceans and seas, the legal frameworks are essential. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is the only international framework we have for the maritime sector and a stable basis for global sea governance, whose constant importance is now confirmed by the BBNJ Agreement, its third agreement. ”

Her decision Athens To proceed with the procedures for the new maritime parks, it is expected to prompt Ankara reaction, which is predicted to rush to dispute on the basis of the positions it repeats and have the theory of “gray zones” and “Blue”.

By referring to the UN Convention on Sea law Mr Mitsotakis made sure to send a clear message that there is an international context for the protection and safety of the oceans and seas, and Athens is moving on the basis of the fact that Turkey has not signed UNCLOS.

From Nice, the prime minister addressed another message to Ankara, this time in his posting at the Conference on Projects and Investments in the Mediterranean, organized by Emmanuel Macron alongside the oceans conference. His reference was for the Greece – Cyprus – Israel Electrical Connection Cable.

Mr Mitsotakis stressed that it is “non -negotiable the freedom of electricity and data connectivity through underwater cables”, and also put the European dimension of the importance of the project. In addition to connectivity, it is of strategic importance to the EU, he said, and because European companies are involved in its development. In essence, Athens raises the objections that Ankara raises in the installation of the electric connection cable, saying that it is not a bilateral difference with its neighbor, but a matter involving the EU in a variety of ways.

The time the prime minister chose to send these messages to Ankara is not accidental. The holding of the Supreme Cooperation Council, which has already been delayed, and Mr Mitsotakis’ meeting with Recep Tayyip Erdogan is pending.

Both issues, the two new national maritime parks and the electric connection cable, irritate the Turkish side reflexes and are assumed that they are in the frame of the next meeting of the two leaders, who are not excluded to have a first one on the sidelines of the Summit. As for the Supreme Cooperation Council, which will take place in Ankara, and the official Mitsotakis – Erdogan meeting, they are placed in early July if no unexpected.