Turkey has threatened Greece with a loss of sovereignty over islands in the Aegean

Abdullah Bozkurt/Stockholm

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has issued a fresh threat to Greece by reiterating his predecessor’s claim that Greece’s sovereignty over islands in the Aegean near the Turkish coastline would be challenged while also signaling that existing treaties regulating the status of the islands would be considered null and void.

He was referring to Greek islands including Mytilene, Chios, Samos, Icaria, Lemnos and Samothrace, while recalling the 1923 Lausanne Treaty and the 1947 Paris Peace Treaties, which established the status of the eastern Aegean Islands.

Turkey’s new threat came shortly after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Greece and pledged to enhance friendly and good neighborly relations with Athens.

In a letter to parliament on January 24, Fidan wrote, “The violation of the non-military status of the islands poses a serious threat to the security of Turkey and the region.” He warned that Greece cannot claim sovereign rights over these islands if Athens does not fulfill its obligations arising from the existing treaties.

Fidan’s predecessor, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, issued a similar threat to Greece in February 2022. “These islands were granted to Greece under the 1923 Lausanne Treaty and the 1947 Paris Peace Treaties on the condition that they not be armed. However, Greece began violating this in the 1960s. … These islands were ceded conditionally. If Greece does not stop, the sovereignty of these islands will be called into question. … If necessary, we will issue a final warning,” Çavuşoğlu stated in an interview with state broadcaster TRT.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s letter: 

Fidan’s letter noted that “when the islands were transferred to Greece, the condition of demilitarization was imposed. Turkey has objected to Greece’s militarization of the islands. The matter is raised on appropriate occasions at international platforms such as NATO and OSCE, urging Greece to adhere to its contractual obligations.” Fidan further recalled that Turkey has documented its legal arguments at the UN by sending three letters to the world body in 2021 and 2022.

In a July 13, 2021 letter to the UN Security Council, Turkey said that “Greece’s continuing deliberate and persistent material breach of the demilitarization provisions of the Lausanne and Paris peace treaties, which are essential to the accomplishment of their object and purpose, constitutes a serious threat to the security of Turkey.”

“Greece is in breach of basic provisions of the treaties under which it acquired sovereignty over the islands, which, from a legal point of view, means that Greece cannot, vis-à-vis Turkey, rely on its title under the same treaties for the purposes of a maritime boundary delimitation.”

Turkey accused Greece of acting unilaterally since 1960 and in clear contravention of the relevant provisions of these treaties. Ankara considers Greece to be in material breach of its demilitarization obligations through troop concentrations, establishing permanent military installations and conducting several military activities in the eastern Aegean islands.

In response Greece argued that its sovereignty in the islands is not conditional on any obligation whatsoever, including any obligation to demilitarize them. In a letter to the UNSC on July 28, 2021 Maria Theofili, the Greek ambassador to the UN, challenged the Turkish claims.

“Greece rejects all the Turkish allegations contained in the aforementioned letter with regard to the purported ‘material breach of its demilitarization obligations’, as well as the allegations that Greece’s sovereignty over the Eastern Aegean islands is conditional on their demilitarization, as totally unsubstantiated, arbitrary and in bad faith,” she said.

Fidan’s recent letter to parliament surfaced following criticism from the opposition in December, accusing the government of remaining silent in response to what it deemed provocative statements made by Greek officials regarding an islet called Zourafa (Ladoxera) in the Aegean Sea, the status of which is disputed by both sides.

In October 2023 both Turkey and Greece issued Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) warnings in the Aegean around the Zourafa islet, each claiming sovereignty in the area. Turkey’s military drill in the region between October 30 and November 2, accompanied by the issuance of a NOTAM, prompted Greece to issue a counter-NOTAM, asserting that part of the area covered by the Turkish NOTAM overlaps with Greek sovereign territory.

Exchange of NOTAMs by Turkey and Greece: 

Athens claimed the Turkish NOTAM was null and void as it intruded into Greek airspace. Ankara responded by issuing a new NOTAM stating that the gun-firing area lies within Turkey’s sovereign territory and asserting that the initial NOTAM remains in effect.

Turkey and Greece frequently confront each other, primarily due to the failure to establish FIR (Flight Information Region) demarcation lines in the Aegean Sea, stemming from conflicting claims over territorial waters.

Turkish President Erdogan visited Greece on December 7, 2023, six years after his last visit, in what was seen as a charm offensive in diplomacy amid Turkey’s troubled relations with the United States. During the visit the two sides signed the Athens Declaration on Friendly Relations and Good-Neighborliness in which they stressed their commitment to fostering friendly relations, mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and understanding.