Turkey's Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu
"The Greek government is only guided by international law and national interests. It will not allow others to decide for it, especially for our own sovereign rights". This is how the Greek spokesperson, Yannis Economou, commented the declaration made this morning by the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mevlut Cavusoglu. The statements said "In recent days the Greek press has reported the news that its territorial waters will be extended to 12 nautical miles around the isle of Crete. Our position is clear: we will not allow any extension, not even by one single mile in the Aegean Sea." According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), ratified by Athens but not by Ankara, States can extend their territorial waters up to 12 nautical miles from their coastline. But in 1995 the Turkish Parliament passed a law according to which should Greece extend its territorial waters in front of Turkey from 6 to 12 nautical miles, it would be interpreted as a declaration of war.
