Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has disputed the Treaty of Lausanne, which set out the modern borders between Greece and Turkey, saying that Ankara will not accept “de facto situations” in the Aegean Sea.
Speaking before Turkey’s National Assembly, Cavusoglu said that a number of interconnected problems remain in the Aegean between the two neighboring countries.
“Among these problems is the question of sovereignty of certain islets and rocky formations, and the fact that there are no sea borders which are set by an international agreement between Turkey and Greece,” he said.
The Turkish foreign minister said the problem concerns the interpretation of articles of the Lausanne Treaty of 1923 and the Paris Treaty of 1947, adding that issues are currently discussed within the context of existing channels of communication between Ankara and Athens.
“Our country wants to find a fair solution to all problems within the framework of international law and taking into account its basic rights and interests,” Cavusoglu said.
“In this context, we have announced that we shall not accept de facto situations that Greece may attempt to create in geographical areas with disputed [territorial] status,” he said.
PS Heat waves are dangerous. They have people go nuts, fall in delirium and hallucinations and have them talk lots of nonsense about Treaties they have signed in the past.
He’s not saying that there are no sea borders: he is stating that the Lausanne Treaty and Paris Treaty are unclear about where the borders are. This has been the position of Turkey for as long as I know. Nothing new here.
Those two treaties as well as the Ankara treaty 1932 made it all fairly clear where the borders and demarcation line is. The map of 1932 shows what was was agreed on at the time with islands named specifically including imia as Greek