Greece objected via a diplomatic note to the two marine national parks that Türkiye declared in the Aegean and Mediterranean. Foreign Minister Yorgos Gerapetritis said that although the coordinates lie outside Greek territorial waters, Athens maintains that the areas overlap with its own continental shelf and considers the regulations contrary to international law.
Athens is expected to raise its objections at next week’s informal EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Ireland. Türkiye had declared two areas off Fethiye-Kaş and in the northern Aegean marine national parks on August 16. Gerapetritis said that communication channels with Ankara should remain open despite the disputes.
Why it matters
The focus of the objection shows that the marine national parks are being linked not only to environmental regulation but also to the continental shelf and international law. This is leading steps to be taken in similar maritime areas to be assessed not merely as environmental policy, but also in terms of the jurisdictional and delimitation disputes between the two countries. Bringing the issue to the informal foreign ministers’ meeting means that the bilateral objection will be addressed on a broader diplomatic platform; however, it is unclear what position will emerge there. Gerapetritis’s statement that communication channels should remain open indicates that the objection has not been taken to the point of cutting diplomatic contacts, while leaving unanswered the question of how the implementation of the parks will be distinguished from continental shelf claims.
Background
Türkiye is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: we have published 14 reports mentioning this name in the past 90 days; the latest is dated August 28, 2026.