Turkey's new Aegean marine parks spark fresh dispute with Greece

Turkey's recent proclamation of two marine conservation areas—one in the northeastern Aegean between Lemnos and Samothrace and another east of Rhodes encircling Kastellorizo—has reignited longstanding maritime tensions with Greece. The Greek Foreign Ministry dismissed the designations as illegal, arguing they fall outside Turkey's territorial waters and thus have no legal effect. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis emphasized that Greek sovereign zones are determined by international law and affirmed Greece's readiness to protect them.

The dispute echoes earlier actions, as Greece announced its own marine parks in the Ionian Islands and southern Cyclades in 2025, which Turkey had previously warned against unilateral moves in semi-closed seas. Both sides appear to be using environmental designations as a means to assert broader maritime claims, intensifying a decades-long rivalry over boundaries and resource rights.