Greece calls Turkey marine parks illegal

Greece on August 17 condemned Turkey's creation of two marine parks as "illegal", accusing Ankara of encroaching on international waters and Greece's continental shelf.

Turkey earlier announced two protected areas in the Mediterranean and Aegean seas to be designated as national marine parks, according to a decree published in Turkey's official gazette.

One park covers waters off the southern Turkish coastal towns of Fethiye and Kas in the Mediterranean. The second covers an area in the northern Aegean near the Dardanelles.

The Fethiye-Kas park covers about 21,700 square kilometres, while the north Aegean park spans 1,742 square kilometres.

Greece's foreign ministry said the Turkish parks extend beyond Turkey's territorial waters and that the move "has no legal effect". It said Turkey's action undermined efforts to maintain mutual understanding between the two countries.

Athens said its own plans to establish marine parks in the Ionian and Aegean seas were carried out in compliance with the law of the sea and only within Greek territorial waters.

Rena Dourou, secretary-general of the left-wing opposition Syriza party, called the Turkish move part of a long series of "Turkish provocations". She said one park excludes the maritime area around the Greek island of Kastellorizo and the other extends between Samothrace and Lemnos.

Greece and Turkey are NATO members and historic rivals whose tensions periodically resurface despite attempts to improve ties. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis signed a declaration on friendship and good-neighbourly relations in December 2023.