Turkey Rejects Greece’s 12-Nautical-Mile Claim as ‘Unacceptable’

Days before Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ankara escalates its rhetoric on maritime boundaries—specifically targeting Greece’s right to extend its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles in the Aegean Sea. Turkey’s Ministry of National Defense issued a statement declaring such unilateral Greek moves ‘unacceptable and contrary to international law.’ It emphasized that a fair, equitable, and legally sound maritime jurisdiction in the Aegean is only possible through mutual dialogue and good faith. The statement reaffirmed Turkey’s commitment to defending its rights and interests in maritime zones under the ‘Blue Homeland’ doctrine.