Before Greece called for a firmer EU position on the Turkey–Libya maritime agreement, the European Commission warned that deepening relations with Turkey was conditional on de-escalation with Greece and progress toward a solution to the Cyprus issue. In the debate in the European Parliament, Raffaele Fitto said that a “lasting de-escalation” in the eastern Mediterranean could not be achieved without a comprehensive agreement for Cyprus, while EU cooperation with Ankara remained “gradual, proportionate and reversible,” linked to political developments.
Against the backdrop of these tensions, Greece recently described Turkey’s establishment of marine parks in the Mediterranean Sea and the northern Aegean Sea as “illegal” and said that the initiatives had no legal effect. At the same time, the leaders in Athens responded to warnings from Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who urged Greece to stop militarizing the islands in the Aegean Sea and to respect international treaties, with the disputes being exacerbated by Turkish maritime plans and mutual accusations concerning rights and “gray zones.”
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