State Department | Different views on Greek airspace

Defence Redefined

Published on 11/11/2020 at 09:26

The US State Department is unable to provide a complete list of confirmed violations of Greek airspace by Turkish fighter jets after January 1, 2017, because – according to its report – Greece and the USA do not share the same view as to the extent of Greek airspace.

The relevant report was delivered to the Foreign Affairs and Defence committees of the Parliament and the Senate, based on the provisions of the Law on the Eastern Mediterranean (East Med Act).

The reasons that it is not able to provide a list of Turkish violations are the following:

“First, Greece claims an airspace that extends up to 10 nautical miles from its coastline and territorial waters up to 6 nautical miles. According to international law, a country’s airspace coincides with its territorial waters. Thus, the United States recognizes up to 6 nautical miles of Greek airspace, according to the latter’s territorial waters. Therefore, Greece and the United States do not share the same view on the extent of Greek airspace.”

The second reason proposed is that although Greece is currently claiming up to 6 nautical miles of territorial waters in the Aegean Sea, “Greece and its neighbors have not agreed on delimiting boundaries in areas where their legal maritime rights overlap. The lack of such delimitation means that there is no clarity regarding the extent of the territorial waters of Greece and the corresponding airspace in these areas, making impossible any assessment of the total violations of the airspace of Greece.”

In conclusion, the report states that the United States encourages Greece and Turkey to resolve outstanding bilateral maritime boundary issues peacefully and in accordance with international law.

“Such efforts will help stabilize the region and facilitate co-operation in NATO. Likewise, the United States urges both Greece and Turkey to refrain from provocative actions that increase tensions in the region.”

Source: CNA

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