The latest instance of “Turkography” attracted a high-profile and scornful reaction by Athens on Thursday, hours after the Turkish government announced a MoU to establish the boundaries of an exclusive economic zone between that country and a provisional government in divided Libya – an attempt at maritime cartography that ignores all of Greece’s Dodecanese islands and the large isle of Crete.
Turkey is a standing opponent and has refused to sign the 1980s United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) – alone amongst EU member-states or candidates – while a Muammar Gaddafi-led Libya had signed but not ratified UNCLOS.
The first reaction by the Greek foreign ministry merely reminded that the action violates international law and is legally worthless, while adding that the move is also not conducive to good-neighborly relations.
In a more forceful response, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said the action borders on the “ludicrous”, while Turkey’s ambassador was called to the foreign ministry for explanations.
The latest “geographical sleight of hand” by Ankara, joined by the shaky Tripoli-based “Government of National Accord” government attempting to rule war-torn Libya, was signed in Istanbul by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the chairman of the so-called presidential council of Libya and prime minister Fayez Mustafa al-Sarraj.
The move also comes in the wake of a recent letter by Turkey to the UN claiming a large chunk of the eastern Mediterranean’s waters based on its interpretation of international maritime law – of which it is not a party.
