Turkish Ministry of Defense: Our NAVTEXs have an indefinite duration, Greece should coordinate with us in investigations in the Aegean

As reported by the Turkish Ministry of Defense, the published NAVTEXs emphasize that “all research activities within our maritime jurisdiction areas, including those covering the continental shelf in the Aegean Sea, must be coordinated with our country, taking into account the safety of navigation.”

It is also emphasized that “the conduct of military activities that could endanger the safety of navigation in areas that include the territorial waters of the Demilitarized Islands is contrary to international agreements.”

The Turkish Ministry of Defense concludes with a warning that “the Turkish Armed Forces will continue to neutralize unilateral activities and initiatives that ignore our country’s rights and interests arising from its maritime jurisdiction areas, within the framework of international law.”

Ankara disputes sovereign rights

This statement is accurate, as the impression was wrongly created in Athens that it is an unprecedented event and a significant challenge for the two NAVTEX to last until 2027, given that all NAVTEX that are declaratory in nature and refer to permanent disputes of Turkey (continental shelf, demilitarization, search and rescue, control of illegal trafficking, dispute over the area of ​​responsibility for issuing NAVTEX, etc.) are renewed every week without a time limit, while there are also NAVTEX concerning Greece and Cyprus that are formally defined to be repeated at least until 2030 and others that have been republished on a weekly basis since 2017 and 2018.

In fact, the positions expressed in these NAVTEX are provocative in themselves, as they dispute critical sovereign rights and responsibilities of Greece, and are not the Their duration makes them provocative, as they concern Turkey's permanent, declared positions.