Turkey has officially designated two «National Marine Parks» in the northeastern Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean, prompting an immediate reaction from Athens and creating a new source of tension in Greek-Turkish relations.
As reported by Naftemporiki, the relevant presidential decrees bear the signature of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and were published in the Turkish Official Gazette on August 15.
The two regions
The first park is located in the Eastern Mediterranean, in the area between Fethiye and Kas, with the zone shown on Turkish maps extending around Kastellorizo.
The second one concerns the northeastern Aegean and extends from the Turkish coast to the sea area between Lemnos and Samothrace.
The crucial point for the Greek side is that the boundaries announced by Ankara are not limited, according to Athens, to Turkish territorial waters but extend to maritime areas where Greek sovereign rights are at stake.
Athens' Response
The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs reacted immediately, describing the Turkish action as illegal to the extent that it extends beyond Turkish territorial waters.
According to the Greek position, the designation of these specific parks in international waters and in areas of the Greek continental shelf has no legal effect and cannot create a fait accompli to the detriment of Greek sovereign rights.
Athens links the issue to international law and, more specifically, to the Law of the Sea, emphasizing that environmental initiatives cannot be used as a means to advance unilateral claims.
From Greek to Turkish Water Parks
Ankara's latest move comes after Greece's decision in 2025 to proceed with the creation of two large marine protected areas in the Ionian Sea and the South Aegean.
Turkey had reacted at the time, arguing that in enclosed or semi-enclosed seas, such as the Aegean and the Mediterranean, unilateral actions should be avoided and cooperation between coastal states should be sought.
Now, with the two Turkish presidential decrees, the issue of marine parks has become yet another area of Greek-Turkish tension, bringing back into the spotlight the differing positions of Athens and Ankara on the maritime zones in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean.
