Greece Retreats: The 12-mile Territorial Water Limit Is Practically Abandoned

source – estianews.gr

The “Forum” for the Eastern Mediterranean Brings Co-Management Through the Back Door — The Government Renounces the Right to Extend to 12 Nautical Miles

Gerapetritis: Our maritime borders are at 6 miles

“This is our red line of sovereignty today,” confessed the Minister of Foreign Affairs, addressing the presidents of the Niki and Greek Solution parties — “12 miles, no way.”
Mitsotakis offers praise to Kostas Simitis for the Helsinki Agreement that recognized “border disputes” — Silence on Kasos.

The sad conclusions from the parliamentary debate on foreign policy [16/10/25] are twofold:

First, through the words of Gerapetritis, the Government confirmed and formalized the position that the sovereignty of the country ends at 6 nautical miles of territorial waters. The possibility of extension to 12 miles is abandoned. This constitutes a change in the country’s strategic doctrine and an acceptance of Turkey’s casus belli, the lifting of which Greece supposedly seeks. Yet, by agreeing to limit ourselves to 6 miles, we have in effect accepted Turkey’s demand.

Second, the co-management of the Aegean is now a fact. The Prime Minister announced a “Forum of Mediterranean Coastal States,” where issues that may arise concerning maritime zones will be discussed. This Forum is, in essence, the “back door” legitimizing the reality that for any action, Greece will need Turkey’s approval. Officially, Greece will present its requests to the “Forum,” in which Turkey will naturally participate, along with countries such as Libya and Syria.
Thus, a dispute that was once considered bilateral and a matter of negotiation with each neighboring country individually is now being elevated to a multilateral issue — granting Turkey a say in matters that should be subjects of negotiation with Egypt or Libya.

On this issue, the Prime Minister said:

“My third comment concerns our understanding specifically of the Eastern Mediterranean, where challenges at the present juncture are many. Challenges on many levels — from maritime zones to migration, from environmental degradation to illegal fishing — are issues for which international law itself requires cooperation among all coastal states.
In such an environment, Greece seeks understanding with all our neighbors — I repeat, with all our neighbors — guided by legality and especially by the Law of the Sea. And it is our intention in the near future to invite all coastal states to a joint meeting, to a forum, where we can jointly examine all that concerns us.”

The issue of territorial waters was raised by the president of the Greek Solution, Mr. Kyriakos Velopoulos, addressing the Foreign Minister, Mr. Gerapetritis. He reminded him that back in 2020, during the Aegean crisis, as Minister of State he had declared that Greece’s “red line” was the six nautical miles of our territorial waters. Now, for the first time, he states it as Foreign Minister. He protested, saying that it is a “red line” for “sovereignty” and for “today,” but essentially confirmed his position. As in 2020, so today, he again avoided speaking about the country’s sovereign rights in the EEZ and continental shelf — matters he systematically omits.

Mr. Velopoulos sarcastically said:

“Six nautical miles is the red line. The green one is twelve. The orange is three, and the other is zero.”
He concluded by stressing:
“The red line is twelve nautical miles according to the International Law you invoke.”

The issue was also raised by the president of the Niki party, Mr. Dimitris Natsios, who asked:

“Why, if you demand the lifting of the casus belli, do you avoid saying that Greece retains the right to extend its territorial waters to 12 miles in the Aegean and the broader Eastern Mediterranean?”

He also posed other questions, drawing MPs’ attention to the concessions made in Kasos and the “informal KYSEA” (Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defense) convened on the matter. Specifically, he said:

“The cable affair began last year with the convening of KYSEA on July 3. We learn that it was informal. From that meeting onward, we attempted or considered going to Kasos four times to conduct seabed research.
The first time we went, the Turks chased us away. The other three times, although it was leaked, you didn’t go. In plain words, you tucked your tail between your legs.”

On these burning issues of national importance, neither the Prime Minister nor the Foreign Minister responded. They listened in solemn silence — while Mr. Mitsotakis was otherwise talkative when replying to the leaders of the Left. Yet, those leaders too remained silent on questions of national sovereignty and maritime zones. They did not escape, however, the Prime Minister’s dismissive behavior, as he left the chamber without hearing them, pretending they had exceeded their allotted speaking time!

By contrast, Mr. Mitsotakis reserved his praise only for Kostas Simitis and the Helsinki Agreement — which acknowledged border differences and Turkish interests in the Aegean.