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The term Aegean dispute refers to a set of interrelated controversial isses between Greece and Turkey over sovereignty and related rights in the area of the Aegean Sea. This set of conflicts has had a large effect on the relations between the two countries since the 1970s. It has repeatedly led to crises coming close to the outbreak of military hostilities, most notably around 1987 and in early 1996. The issues in the Aegean fall into several categories:
- The delimitation of the territorial waters,
- The delimitation of the national airspace,
- The delimitation of Exclusive economic zones and the use of the continental shelf,
- The delimitation of Flight Information Regions (FIR), and their significance for the control of military flight activity,
- The issue of the demilitarized status assigned to some of the Greek islands in the area,
- The status of an undetermined number of small islets which are regarded as “grey zones” of undetermined sovereignty by Turkey, with the tiny islets of Imia/Kardak being the best-known example.
As of 1998, the two countries have been trying to overcome the tensions through a series of diplomatic measures, particularly with a view to easing Turkey's accession to the European Union. However, as of 2006, differences over suitable diplomatic paths to a substantial solution are still unresolved.
See also: Foreign relations of Turkey, Foreign relations of Greece
Maritime and areal zones of influence
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Several of the Aegean issues deal with the delimitation of both countries' zones of influence in the air and on the sea around their respective territories. These issues owe their virulence to a geographical peculiarity of the Aegean sea and its territories. While the mainland coasts of Greece and Turkey border the Aegean Sea on both sides and represent roughly equal shares of its total coastline, the overwhelming number of the many islands in the Aegean, which are scattered all across it, belong to Greece. In particular, there is a chain of Greek islands lined up along the Turkish west coast (Thasos, Samothrace, Lesbos, Chios, Samos, and the Dodecanese islands), partly in very in close proximity to the mainland. They cut off large parts of it from the open sea, and effectively block Turkey from extending any of its zones of influence beyond a few miles off its coastline. The breadth of maritime and areal zones of influence, such as the territorial waters and national airspace, are traditionally measured from the nearest territory of the state in question, including its islands. This means that the division of these zones in the Aegean is inherently biased in favour of Greece. It also means that any possibly extension of such zones is bound to benefit Greece much more than Turkey proportionally.
According to a popular perception of these issues in the two countries, Turkey is concerned that Greece might be trying to extend its zones of influence to such a degree that it would turn the Aegean effectively into a "Greek lake". Conversely, Greece is concerned that Turkey might try to "occupy half of the Aegean", i.e. establish Turkish zones of influence towards the middle of the Aegean, beyond the chain of outlying Greek islands, turning these into a kind of exclave surrounded by Turkish waters, and thus cutting them off from their motherland.
The territorial waters
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The national airspace
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The continental shelf
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The Flight Information Regions
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The islands
Demilitarized status
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“Grey zones”
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Strategies of conflict resolution
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See also
- Imia/Kardak dispute
- Cyprus dispute
References
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- Article related to the Imia crisis.
- Greek Embassy news about Airspace Violations #1.
- Greek Embassy news about Airspace Violations #2.
- Article at F-16.net about "Turkish provocation over the Aegean sea".
- Turkish army denial of the violations
For further provisional references, see the Talk page, and the article on Imia/Kardak