Greece's foreign ministry fired back at Turkey on Saturday after Ankara objected to a new Greek spatial planning framewo...

Greece's foreign ministry fired back at Turkey on Saturday after Ankara objected to a new Greek spatial planning framework covering the Aegean, calling Turkey's position "unfounded and unacceptable" and saying that repeating the same claim does not give it any legal weight. The Greek foreign ministry statement was blunt. Athens said its position on sovereignty in the Aegean "is absolutely clear, is based on existing International Treaties, and does not admit of further comment." The message was aimed squarely at Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Öncu Keçeli, who claimed the Greek framework "will have no legal consequence" for Turkey. Keçeli also revived Turkey's longstanding argument that certain Aegean formations were never transferred to Greek sovereignty under international treaties, a claim Athens has consistently rejected. The new dispute was triggered by Greece's announcement of a Special Spatial Planning Framework for Industry and Supply Chains, which includes the Aegean region. Turkey's diplomatic response came swiftly after the announcement. The Turkish spokesperson also called on Greece to respect the Athens Declaration on Friendship and Good Neighborly Relations, signed in December 2023, and described Ankara as ready to cooperate "as one of the two coastal states of the Aegean." Greece rejects that framing whenever it is paired with challenges to Greek sovereign rights over the islands and maritime zones in question. The exchange reflects how routine domestic planning decisions by Greece can trigger immediate diplomatic pushback from Ankara, with Turkey using any reference to the Aegean to restate territorial objections that Greek and international law do not recognize. #Greece #Turkey #Aegean