The new Turkish claims of "conditional sovereignty" - where the condition for granting it was, always according to Ankara, their demilitarization - which Greece exercises in the Aegean islands as well as in the Dodecanese, constitute a "new development" and "seriously undermine regional peace and stability", Athens clarifies in its letter, dated 25 May, to the United Nations, in which it responds to that of the Turkish Permanent Representative Ferintun Sinirlioglu of 30 September 2021.
The Greek government stresses in its letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres that Turkish claims that "Greek sovereignty over the islands [OF THE EAST AEGEAN] is conditional on their demilitarization" based on the Lausanne (1923) and Paris (1947) Treaties are "legally, historically and factually untenable". It is also noted that Ankara insists that as sovereignty is called into question, the rights deriving from its exercise - in this case the islands' rights to maritime zones - are also called into question.
Athens cites two legal cases decided by the International Court of Justice in The Hague (ICJ) to clarify that borders and territorial sovereignty established by international treaties cannot be challenged. The two cases are (a) that between Cambodia and Thailand concerning the Temple of Preah Vihear (Case Concerning the Temple of Preah Vihear, Cambodia v. Thailand, Judgment of 15 June 1962) and (b) that between Libya and Chad (Territorial Dispute, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya/Chad, Judgment of 3 February 1994).
According to the first case, "when two countries determine a boundary between them", the primary purpose of treaties defining boundaries and territorial sovereignty is "to achieve stability and finality", as stated on page 34 of the judgment. In addition, this is why, even after such a treaty has been signed, the result of the delimitation of a border or territorial sovereignty does not depend on the treaty in question, but acquires an autonomous 'life'. As the ICJ itself stressed in Libya/Chad, 'the establishment of [A] boundary is a fact which, from the outset, has had a legal life of its own' and 'a boundary established by treaty thus achieves a permanence which the treaty itself does not necessarily enjoy'.
"Therefore", Athens clarifies, "any attempt to challenge Greece's sovereignty over these islands on the unjustified premise that Greece is allegedly in breach of its obligation to demilitarize them on the basis of the above-mentioned treaties (i.e. Lausanne and Paris) is contrary to the fundamental principle of international law regarding the stability of borders and sovereignty titles, as confirmed by international jurisprudence". Following this position, Athens underlines that all islands have full rights to all maritime zones without the slightest legal challenge.
The Greek side naturally also rejects the entire Turkish argumentation on selective demilitarization imposed by the 1936 Montreux Treaty, according to which Ankara considers that Lemnos and Samothrace should remain demilitarized, as well as the late attempt by the Turkish side to show that the statement of the then Foreign Minister Aras before the Turkish National Assembly (31 July 1936) that Greece is under no obligation to keep Lemnos and Samothrace demilitarized has no legal force.
Also interesting is the Greek response to the attempt to identify the provisions of the 1947 Paris Treaty on the demilitarization of the Dodecanese with the status of the Aaland Islands, invoked by Mr. Sinirlioglou in his letter last September. The invocation of the 1856 Convention on the demilitarisation of the Aaland Islands, annexed to the 1856 Paris Peace Treaty, is "completely irrelevant and inapplicable" in the case of the Dodecanese for the reason that the 1947 Treaty does not refer to a "legal regime of demilitarisation". Moreover, Athens reiterates that Turkey is "res inter alios acta" in relation to the 1947 Treaty, Article 89 of which states that "its provisions confer no rights and benefits on States which are not Parties thereto".
The fact that Turkey "invites other States Parties to the treaties in question to call upon Greece to comply with their provisions" confirms "Turkey's persistent practice of raising issues that have no legal basis, a practice that adds to the instability that this country causes by its actions". Athens also recalls the continuous upgrading and strengthening of Turkey's military forces, the threat of war, but also the issue of the recent overflights, even stressing the relevant provision of Article 13 of the Lausanne Treaty that these should be avoided. Finally, it calls on Ankara to cease these moves, which contribute to regional instability, and to engage sincerely in a peaceful resolution of "the pending dispute" on the delimitation of the continental shelf and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) on the basis of good neighbourliness and international law.
Source: in.gr
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