Greece's new decision on Aegean can fuel tensions with Türkiye even more

Amid rising tensions between Ankara and Athens, Greece plans to extend its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles to the south and west of the island of Crete in March, local media reported on December 25.

The government made the decision based on favourable international and regional developments and to gain an upper hand over the opposition by delivering on a long-held demand ahead of parliamentary elections slated for summer 2023, online news outlet In.Gr reported, citing sources from the office of the presidency, per Daily Sabah.

According to the news outlet, a unilateral decision by Egypt on December 11 to demarcate its western maritime borders with neighbouring Libya and exploration work by US energy giant ExxonMobil off Crete also prompted the move.

Greek authorities did not expect a particularly harsh reaction from neighbouring Türkiye amid heightened tensions over several issues including the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean Seas, Cyprus, and arms accumulation, the publication said.

The move would also significantly help Athens' wider regional strategy to curb Ankara and its influence over Libya. Since early November, Exxon Mobil has been conducting seismic surveys in two blocks off Crete hoping to discover energy resources.

In response, Libya accused Greece of exploiting the Libyan crisis to impose a fait accompli and decried Athens' "irresponsible behaviour" of striking a deal with international companies to launch research and exploration efforts on the maritime borders between them.

Türkiye and Greece are at odds over several issues, including competing claims to jurisdiction in the Eastern Mediterranean, overlapping claims over their continental shelves, maritime boundaries, airspace, energy, the ethnically split island of Cyprus, the status of the islands in the Aegean Sea and migrants.

Relations deteriorated after Erdoğan said Mitsotakis "no longer exists" for him, when the Greek premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis lobbied to block sales of F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye during a visit to the United States, despite previously agreeing with Erdoğan "to not include third countries in our dispute."

In May, Erdoğan cut ties with Mitsotakis and declared all other channels of communication between the countries closed.

The most recent incidents to have triggered tensions include two Greek coast guard boats opening fire on a cargo ship in international waters, continued pushbacks by Greek elements recorded by Turkish UAVs and previous harassment of Turkish fighter jets on a NATO mission by Greece’s Russian-made S-300s.