Senator Raptakis to U.S. Senator Jack Reed regarding Turkey's Blue Homeland, Greece and Cyprus

Dear Senator Reed:

 I am writing to alert you and all of the members of Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation to a serious concern that threatens the territorial integrity of Greece and Cyprus. 

 The Turkish government is reportedly preparing a bill on so-called “Maritime Jurisdiction Zones” that would codify their “Blue Homeland” doctrine, which aims to give the Erdogan regime the power to declare an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) up to 200 nautical miles from Turkey’s coast, ignoring the legal sovereign rights of both Greece and Cyprus.  

The bill is expected to be submitted to the Turkish Parliament next month. Bloomberg first reported on this on May 8 (“Turkey Plan For Maritime Areas May Fuel Mediterranean Tensions.) 

Despite the fact that the United Nation’s Convention on the Law of the Sea allows coastal states to establish an EEZ of up to 200 nautical miles, Turkey has not ratified this convention and Ankara has long rejected Greece’s position that the islands have full rights to maritime zones.  

Under the proposed legislation, Turkey would:

 unilaterally establish maritime borders in the Aegean and Easter Mediterranean that overlap with Greek and Cypriot zones;

• give the Turkish president the authority to delimit EEZs, regulate fishing rights, hydrocarbon extraction, and create maritime parks; and
• have the ability to contest sovereignty over various islands, islets and sea areas of the Aegean.  

At the same time, the measure explicitly states that Greece would require Turkish permission for any activity in the area and that Turkish Armed Forces would protect Turkey’s claimed maritime rights and interests. 

This is nothing short of an attempt to unilaterally impose chaos on the region, an ill-conceived effort to turn phony claims into a legal and operational framework, backed up by naval or coast guard enforcement, to dismantle Greek and Cypriot sovereignty and sovereign rights. 

I urge you and your colleagues to deliver a strong message to the Trump administration that the State Department must warn Turkey to withdraw or stop the bill, making clear that their unilateral legislative actions will not be allowed to create significant destabilization of the region. 

Sincerely, 

Lou Raptakis