Exclusive economic zone

In a letter to the United Nations, Greece has protested against Turkey's "unsubstantiated and legally unfounded claims" in the Eastern Mediterannean saying that they shun "the legitimate sovereign rights of Greece and of other neighboring countries" in the same maritime area.

Αs Turkish President Recep Tayyip was declaring to  members of his AK Party that Greece has resigned itself to Ankara's geopolitical designs in the Mediterranean, Cyprus' Energy Minister Georgios Lakkotrypis told an audience at the Greek foreign ministry that his country will move forward with its hydrocarbons drilling plans in its exclusive economic zone.

US Ambassador to Athens, Geoffrey Pyatt, sided with Greece over a contentious maritime boundaries agreement signed between Turkey and Libya saying that all Greek islands, regardless of size, are entitled to continental shelf and exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Even as Turkey is escalating its aggressive acts in the Eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus' EEZ, Libya, and the Aegean, Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias declared after a meeting today of the National Council on Foreign Policy that there is a consensus between the government and opposition parties on the management of crucial national issues and in particular Greek-Turkish tensions and the protection o

Commenting on the contentious agreement on maritime boundaries signed between Turkey and Libya's internationally-recognized government, US Ambassador to Greece, Geoffrey Pyatt said, in an interview published on Saturday, that Greek islands are on the same footing as the mainland when it comes to continental shelf and an exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Turkey has announce plans to begin gas and oil exploration in a maritime area reaching from the Greek island of Kastelorizo to Libya, with which Ankara has in November, 2019, signed an accord that delimits their putative Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs, though they are not contiguous) by expropriating a huge chunk of Greece's EEZ, particularly around Crete.

Before we divide ourselves into "traitors" and "patriots" over whether we should resort to the International Court of Justice in The Hague to resolve issues with Turkey and many other matters, it would be a good idea to make sure we know what we are talking about. Ignorance is a dangerous thing, especially when it is found in so-called experts or just plain old know-it-alls.

Senior US energy official Francis Fannon currently holding a round of talks in Nicosia highlighted the importance of the partnership between Cyprus, Greece, Israel and the US, but urged all parties to refrain from provocative moves which may further destabilize the region.

The arrival in Cyprus of senior US energy official Francis Fannon sends "political messages," Cypriot government spokesman Kyriakos Kousios said on Tuesday, noting that a new round of drilling in the Cyprus EEZ is expected end of March.

Turkey's Oruc Reis research vessel was on Friday spotted within the boundaries of Greece's continental shelf, Kathimerini reports.
Greek frigate HS Nikiforos Fokas was dispatched to the area to monitor its activity.