The Greek parliament on Thursday evening ratified a bilateral agreement on the delimitation of maritime areas for the exploitation of hydrocarbons in the eastern Mediterranean between Greece and Egypt, which arouses the anger of neighboring Turkey.
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This agreement is considered as a response to the Turkish-Libyan agreement signed at the end of 2019 allowing Turkey to access a large maritime area in the eastern Mediterranean where large hydrocarbon deposits have been discovered in recent years.
Its ratification comes in the midst of the crisis in Greek-Turkish relations in the eastern Mediterranean where the two neighboring countries, both members of NATO, are fighting over maritime areas rich in hydrocarbons. Under this treaty, Egypt and Greece are now each allowed to derive maximum benefit from the resources available in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), including oil and gas reserves.
A similar agreement with Italy
Since August 10, four days after the signing of this bilateral agreement, Ankara has deployed its seismic boat Oruç Reis and its escort of Turkish warships to carry out explorations off the Greek island of Kastellorizo, 2 km from the Turkish coasts. On Thursday, Ankara announced the extension of its hydrocarbon research. In total, 178 deputies out of the 300 in the Greek parliament voted in favor of the Greek-Egyptian agreement.
A similar agreement between Athens and Rome had been ratified Wednesday evening by the parliament which delimits the fishing zones of Greece and Italy and confirms the right of the Greek islands in the Ionian Sea (west) to have maritime zones of operation. These two agreements " will remain in the history of the country ", welcomed Wednesday evening Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Government spokesman Stelios Petsas stressed on Thursday that " their ratification is urgent " in view of " Turkey's illegal activities ". The head of government announced during the parliamentary debate the forthcoming drafting of a bill on " the extension of the coastal zone in the Ionian Sea from six to twelve nautical miles under the International Convention on the Law of the Sea ".
Signed in 1982, this convention is often used by Athens as a lever for pressure on Turkey, located on its eastern border. Tensions escalated Wednesday between Turkey and Greece, which carry out rival military maneuvers, the first with the United States, the second with France, Cyprus and Italy, due to last until Friday.