GREEK REPORTER -February 27, 2026 - By Tasos Kokkinidis - Greece Rebuts Turkish Claims in New UN Letter Regarding Maritime Rights

 Greece Rebuts Turkish Claims in New UN Letter Regarding Maritime Rights

ByTasos Kokkinidis

February 27, 2026

Greek Coast Guard. Credit: Greek PM Press Office 

Tensions regarding maritime delimitation in the Eastern Mediterranean have resurfaced at the United Nations. In a recent formal communication to the UN, Turkey has challenged Greece’s sovereign rights, leading to a swift and firm rebuttal from Athens.

Turkey challenges the maritime status quo

In a letter dated February 16 (document A/80/642)—issued just five days after the high-level meeting between Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara—Turkey’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ahmet Yildiz, articulated several key objections:

• Opposition to Greek Interpretation: Turkey accuses Athens of a “selective interpretation of the law of the sea,” specifically regarding the right of islands to generate full maritime zones, including a continental shelf and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
• Defense of the 2019 Memo: The letter reaffirms Turkey’s commitment to the 2019 Turkish-Libyan memorandum, rejecting criticism from both Greece and Egypt regarding the validity of that agreement and subsequent hydrocarbon exploration deals in the region.
• Objections to Maritime Spatial Planning: Ankara describes Greece’s efforts to delineate its maritime boundaries as “maximalist” and “excessive,” asserting that such claims have no legal standing and produce no consequences for Turkey.

Despite these challenges, the letter concluded on a conciliatory note, expressing a stated readiness for dialogue with Greece and other coastal states, while citing the “spirit and intentions” of the December 2023 Athens Declaration.

Greece’s firm rebuttal of Turkey’s claims

Diplomatic sources in Athens were quick to categorize the Turkish letter as an “expected development,” noting that while the diplomatic channel remains open, the substance of the Turkish position remains unchanged. Key points from the Greek response:

• Rejection of Legal Precedent: Sources in Athens described the Turkish arguments as “imaginative and arbitrary,” emphasizing that these claims have been systematically addressed and dismantled in previous filings to the UN.
• Adherence to International Law: Greece maintains that, under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), islands are fully entitled to maritime zones, just as mainland territories are. Athens insists that repeating legally unfounded claims does not grant them validity.
• Focus on Regional Stability: Athens reiterated its stance that Turkey must abandon its non-recognition of the Republic of Cyprus—a UN and EU member state—and align its policies with international law to foster genuine good-neighborly relations.

“Turkey should comply with the provisions of the Law of the Sea,” diplomatic sources noted, “for the benefit of good-neighborly relations between our two countries, as well as for stability and cooperation in the region.”