Post by Dèsîŗĕ Yèarning on Mar 17, 2011 21:07:12 GMT -5
Greece accuses Turkey of harassing Italian ship in Aegean
18 March 2011, Friday / TODAY’S ZAMAN WITH WIRES, İSTANBUL
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Greece has claimed a Turkish warship harassed an Italian exploration ship in international waters overseen by Athens, the latest accusation in a deep-seated dispute between the two neighbors over their territorial rights in the Aegean. The Italian ship was exploring a possible fiber optic cable route from Italy to Israel, and had received Greece’s permission to explore the waters near the Aegean island of Crete, according to Greek officials.
“The Italian vessel was harassed by a Turkish corvette in violation of the rules of international law,” said Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman Grigoris Delavekouras at a press conference in Athens on Wednesday. Delavekouras added that the Italian ship had obtained permission from Greek authorities to study a possible route for an underwater fiber optic cable from Italy to Israel.
The ship was within the Greek continental shelf, Delavekouras continued. He added that the Greek Embassy in Ankara lodged an official complaint about the incident to Ankara.
The delimitation of the Turkish and Greek continental shelf in the Aegean is one of the features of the complicated Aegean disputes. Turkey says the continental shelf should be measured from the continental mainland, while Greece says the Greek islands that line up along Turkey’s west coast should be taken into account while measuring the boundaries of the Greek continental shelf. Turkey’s argument would mean Turkey is entitled to economic zones up to the median line of the Aegean -- leaving out the territorial waters around the Greek islands in its eastern half, which would remain as Greek exclaves. Greek argument, on the other hand, would mean that Greece would gain the economic rights to almost the whole of the Aegean.
Greece and Turkey came to brink of war three times over the Aegean disputes in the past but relations have significantly improved in recent years. Despite frequent high-level contacts and expanding cooperation in a number of areas, no progress has been reported so far in closed-door exploratory talks between diplomats of the two countries over the Aegean disputes. “The Turkish side has often put forward demands that raise suspicions. These do not contribute to the ultimate objective of the exploratory talks,” Delavekouras was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency. “Greece wants these talks to move forward,” he added.
18 March 2011, Friday / TODAY’S ZAMAN WITH WIRES, İSTANBUL
0
Greece has claimed a Turkish warship harassed an Italian exploration ship in international waters overseen by Athens, the latest accusation in a deep-seated dispute between the two neighbors over their territorial rights in the Aegean. The Italian ship was exploring a possible fiber optic cable route from Italy to Israel, and had received Greece’s permission to explore the waters near the Aegean island of Crete, according to Greek officials.
“The Italian vessel was harassed by a Turkish corvette in violation of the rules of international law,” said Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman Grigoris Delavekouras at a press conference in Athens on Wednesday. Delavekouras added that the Italian ship had obtained permission from Greek authorities to study a possible route for an underwater fiber optic cable from Italy to Israel.
The ship was within the Greek continental shelf, Delavekouras continued. He added that the Greek Embassy in Ankara lodged an official complaint about the incident to Ankara.
The delimitation of the Turkish and Greek continental shelf in the Aegean is one of the features of the complicated Aegean disputes. Turkey says the continental shelf should be measured from the continental mainland, while Greece says the Greek islands that line up along Turkey’s west coast should be taken into account while measuring the boundaries of the Greek continental shelf. Turkey’s argument would mean Turkey is entitled to economic zones up to the median line of the Aegean -- leaving out the territorial waters around the Greek islands in its eastern half, which would remain as Greek exclaves. Greek argument, on the other hand, would mean that Greece would gain the economic rights to almost the whole of the Aegean.
Greece and Turkey came to brink of war three times over the Aegean disputes in the past but relations have significantly improved in recent years. Despite frequent high-level contacts and expanding cooperation in a number of areas, no progress has been reported so far in closed-door exploratory talks between diplomats of the two countries over the Aegean disputes. “The Turkish side has often put forward demands that raise suspicions. These do not contribute to the ultimate objective of the exploratory talks,” Delavekouras was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency. “Greece wants these talks to move forward,” he added.