The 61st round of Greek-Turkish exploratory contacts takes place in Constantinople today

Defence Redefined

Published on 25/01/2021 at 12:15

Against the backdrop of the Bosphorus, exploratory contacts between Greece and Turkey resume today in Constantinople after almost 5 years. The object of the contacts is the investigation of convergence points for possible future negotiations regarding the delimitation of the continental shelf and the EEZ in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean, based on International Law.

In the exploratory contacts, as the Greek side has repeatedly stressed, the issue of demilitarization of the islands is not discussed.

Greece does not negotiate any issue concerning national sovereignty. The country’s position is in line with International Maritime Law. The decision to expand territorial waters is a sovereign right of the country. It has made it clear that it retains in full the right to extend its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles anywhere and anytime. 

Greece has clearly stated that it is approaching the 61st round of exploratory contacts with confidence, “good faith”, zero naivete, spirit of cooperation, constructive climate and the hope that the talks will lead to de-escalation as well as that the Turkish side will come in a similar spirit. 

The two delegations will pick up on the 60th round of exploratory contacts held in Athens on March 1st, 2016.

After a period of Turkish provocations and violations and following the EU summit in December which highlighted the “need for continued de-escalation in order to enable the rapid resumption and smooth continuation of the direct exploratory talks between Greece and Turkey,” on January 11, the Turkish side, which hosts the talks, proposed that the latter should take place on January 25, something Greece accepted. 

It is noted that the 61st round takes place less than two months after the EU Summit of March 25-26, during which the High Representative, Josep Borrell, will present his report on the state of political, economic and trade relations between Turkey and the EU as well as on related instruments and options.

Welcoming the resumption of exploratory talks, the EU High Representative warned Turkish Foreign Minister Melvut Cavusoglu during a meeting in Brussels last week that such efforts should be sustained and that intentions and announcements should be turned into action.

Also read: Turkish Minister of Defence | Greece should negotiate with Turkey

The process of confidential exploratory contacts was agreed in March 2002, in the framework of the Greek-Turkish rapprochement process inaugurated in 1999 and it consists of informal talks and not negotiations. It is emphasized that during the talks, minutes are not kept and neither side undertakes obligations and commitments. The aim is to investigate whether and to what extent there is a common ground and the conditions for the commencement of negotiations that could possibly lead to an agreement on the continental shelf and the Exclusive Economic Zone, based on international law. 

In the event that no common ground is found, a firm position of Greece, which is fully in line with international law and has been set as a criterion in Turkey’s accession course, is to refer the matter to the International Court of Justice in The Hague (ICJ).

However, since Turkey has not recognized the general mandatory jurisdiction of the Court, a special agreement is required to form the legal basis for the jurisdiction of the ICJ.

Apart from Constantinople, the Turkish side has hosted exploratory contacts in Ankara, Bodrum, Cesme (Fountain) and Izmir, while Greece, apart from Athens, held talks in Nafplio and Thessaloniki.

Nearly two decades since the first meeting, 60 rounds of contact have taken place, but their regularity is not a given. There have been years in which more than ten rounds of contacts have taken place and others in which only one has taken place, while in the last five years there has been none. In the first years talks were evidently intensive, as by the end of 2004 27 rounds of contacts had taken place. By the end of 2010 these amounted to 48 and then reached 60 on March 1, 2016. After almost five years, the 61st round of exploratory contacts takes place in Constantinople today.

Also read: NATO welcomes the resumption of exploratory talks between Greece and Turkey