By Gifts Antoniou

The announcement, yesterday, Creation of the two marine parks announced by the Prime MinisterKyriakos Mitsotakis, in early June, was accompanied by Ankara’s reaction, which was expressed in a statement by the Turkish Foreign Ministry. The final choice for the two maritime parks in the southern Cyclades and in the Ionian Sea leaves out the protected uninhabited islands of the Cyclades and the Dodecanese. Theoretically, Athens, by choosing this design, leaves, at least for the time being, besides the Aegean Marine Park, the islands that Turkey occasionally has integrated into their theory ‘Gray Belts’. Nevertheless, the Turkish side with yesterday’s reaction showed that it holds all its disputes and theories on the basis of which it shapes the context of its claims.

The reaction of the Greek side was immediate and in high tones, with the Foreign Ministry clarifying that “Exercising the rights arising from Greek sovereignty is not the subject of negotiation” and to point out that “The legal status in the Aegean is clear. Greek sovereignty in this region is clearly and definitively defined by international conventional texts. ”

Ankara, in the way it reacted yesterday, is ahead of the follow -up, which should be expected very soon, as in the announcement of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. stated that “In the coming days, Turkey will announce its plans to protect the environment in its maritime areas.”

Regarding its fixed positions and visas for the Aegean, with yesterday’s announcement the Turkish side restores:

– the theory of ‘gray zones’, saying that “The maritime parks declared in the Aegean will have no legal effect in the context of the interconnected Aegean problems between the two countries, including specific geographical formations whose ownership has not been transferred to Greece under international conditions.” As a valid source states, despite the fact that the Dodecanese islands and many islands of the Cyclades have been included, are the islets and islands in the east of Amorgos, which seems to cause Ankara’s attention, as it has included some of them in the ‘Gray’ Zones in the consistent tactic of disputes. It is very specific to reference to the announcement that “The efforts to exploit global values, such as protecting the environment in the context of the interconnected Aegean issues and the status of certain islands, islands and islands whose sovereignty has not been transferred to Greece under international conditions will not produce any results today.”

– accusation that Greece is proceeding to unilateral actionsstating that they “should be avoided in closed or semi -seasy seas such as the Aegean and the Mediterranean. He states that “Turkey is always ready to work with Greece as one of the two coastal states in the Aegean Sea.”

Yesterday’s reaction is characterized by diplomatic sides as expectedas Ankara in substance reminds of its permanent objections and disputes on the Aegean regime, on which it develops its maximalist claims. How they will be formed will be shown in the announcement of the marine parks he announced. Also, diplomatic sources point out that everything will be judged in the field and In the tactic that the Turkish side will adopt therethat is, whether it will seek in practice to challenge the development of actions that our country will launch in order to secure the protection regime in the areas that have joined the maritime parks.