Ankara is again raising tones, regarding the issue of the possible extension to 12 miles of Greek territorial waters south and west of Crete.
After the Turkish media, Turkey‘s foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, addressed the issue, renewing threats of war if Athens exercises its inalienable right to extend territorial waters to 12 nautical miles.
In his statements, on Thursday morning (29/12), Cavusoglu explained that Turkey will not allow the expansion of Greek territorial waters, not even by one mile.
“Not 12 miles, not one” – He again referred to the casus belli
“Not 12 miles, not one,” the Turkish foreign minister said, according to Turkish media, during the customary press conference before the end of the year.
Recalling the casus belli he added:
“The decision was taken by our National Assembly in 1995 and the matter is clear and the decision remains in force.”
It is recalled that the Turkish National Assembly, on June 8, 1995, declared a casus belli (cause of war) for the possible extension of Greek territorial waters to 12 miles.
“Athens is behind the crisis from the Aegean to the Mediterranean”
The issue of the possible extension of Greek waters to 12 miles is also a concern of the Turkish press, with a portion of it targeting Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
“They are preparing to take a provocative step. Greece is preparing to extend its territorial waters to the south and west of Crete to 12 miles”, said a Turkish presenter, to conclude: “The Mitsotakis government is moving the crisis from the Aegean to the Mediterranean before the election”.
Trying to explain it, he pointed out that “Mitsotakis, who has been squeezed on the domestic political scene, sees this step as an electoral investment. While his reaction on the field is like a harbinger of a new crisis.
“Because with the extension of Greece’s territorial waters to 12 miles, there will be entry into a part of the joint Turkish-Libyan exclusive zone”.
