According to a report by Daily Sabah, Turkey is stepping up efforts to create marine parks in the Aegean Sea and closely monitoring Greece’s initiatives. Ankara believes that the Greek initiative might be linked to longstanding disputes in the Aegean and has expressed concerns that the planned parks could overlap with contested maritime zones. While Turkey supports environmental protection, it warns against unilateral actions with political motives.
Turkey emphasizes the importance of transparent and cooperative approaches in managing marine resources, especially in light of Greek announcements about creating new marine parks in the Ionian and Aegean seas by the end of June. At the same time, Ankara is advancing international agreements such as the BBNJ and the framework for marine spatial planning, and is participating in the United Nations Ocean Conference.
Ankara argues that marine environmental protection should not undermine the rights of coastal states or upset the balance of power in contested areas. Despite the phase of dialogue and de-escalation that the two countries have entered since late 2023, the marine park issue underscores the ongoing geopolitical concerns in the region.
