As per press reports, Greece is deploying Patriot missiles to Karpathos, a demilitarized island in the Dodecanese, at a time when the so-called rules-based international order is giving way to a new world disorder. As expected, Greece is attempting to justify this illegitimate action, which violates legally binding provisions of international treaties, by citing tensions in the Middle East and the drone attack on the British Akrotiri base on the island of Cyprus.[1]

In response to a question regarding recent developments concerning the demilitarized status of the Aegean Islands, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Türkiye stated that:

“We find the recent statements contradicting the demilitarized status of the Aegean Islands reckless, unfortunate, and untimely. The objective legal status of the Eastern Aegean Islands and the Dodecanese Islands, which were placed under permanent demilitarized status pursuant to the 1923 Lausanne Peace Treaty and the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty, is not open to debate. Therefore, it is not surprising that certain circles, seeking to exploit recent developments in our region and striving to poison our bilateral relations with our NATO ally Greece at every opportunity, are attempting to create a new fait accompli... we will not allow any fait accompli.”[2]

On the other hand, the Greek Foreign Ministry spokesperson, in response, posted on her X account, claimed that:

“Unilateral claims regarding the demilitarization of the Aegean islands are unfounded and have been repeatedly rejected in their entirety. The 1923 Treaty of Lausanne governs the status of the Greek islands of the eastern Aegean, the 1936 Montreux Convention, and the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty, to which Turkey is not even a contracting party. These treaties leave no doubt regarding the status of the islands. Greece’s defensive posture is non-negotiable. The state of war in our wider neighborhood requires the country to maintain the necessary defensive preparedness. The prevailing uncertainty and the risk of further escalation of the war call for prudence and restraint, not ineffective statements.”[3]

In recent years, AVİM has published analyses and commentary on Greece's attempts to militarize the Aegean Islands, which, according to legally binding international treaties, have a non-military demilitarized status, and drew attention to the legal, political, and military consequences of this militarization and attempted to explain the international legal dimensions of the issue in detail.

In our previous analyses, we underscored that the demilitarized status of the Eastern Aegean islands is intrinsically linked to the sovereignty established by the Lausanne Peace Treaty. The militarization of these islands constitutes a material breach of the Treaty, undermining its object and purpose and rendering their sovereignty legally questionable. In international law, a “material breach” denotes a violation of a provision essential to the fulfillment of a treaty’s purpose, thereby entitling the aggrieved party to question the continued validity or application of related provisions. We further highlighted Türkiye’s 2021 UN communication, emphasizing Greece’s persistent violations of its treaty obligations as a serious security threat. Moreover, the statements of former Greek Foreign Minister Dendias in 2022 implicitly acknowledged the existence of the demilitarization regime, despite his attempt to deny Türkiye’s derived rights, overlooking the historical and legal context in which these obligations were framed. [4]

In our latest AVİM analysis, we revisited the four key agreements establishing the demilitarized status of the Aegean islands, assessed the legal and diplomatic implications of Greece’s armament policy and its links with Israel, and underlined that this status serves as an element of legal and strategic balance. We stressed that Greece’s actions risk undermining this balance and the validity of the agreements, emphasizing the need for dialogue within the UN and EU frameworks.[5]

The legal, political, diplomatic, and military dimensions of Greece's militarization of the Aegean Islands have been examined in detail to date. As the Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson succinctly stated in response to a question, the objective legal status of the Eastern Aegean Islands and the Dodecanese Islands, which were placed under permanent demilitarized status pursuant to the 1923 Lausanne Peace Treaty and the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty, is not open to debate.

Türkiye consistently and persistently officially registers its objectives as a "persistent objector" in response to Greece's disregard of the legally binding international treaties. By these persistent and consistent objections to Greece's attempts to self-create norms in contravention of the legally binding rules upon them, Türkiye is not only reminding the world of the rule of law but also fulfilling the fundamental requirements of a rules-based international order. In this context, the phrase "ineffective statements" in the aforementioned statement by the Greek Foreign Ministry spokesperson is empty, lacking in basic finesse in diplomatic language, and reflects a complete lack of awareness of international legal doctrines.

The file regarding Greece's disregard for international law by militarizing the Aegean islands, which have a demilitarized status, is growing thicker every day. History is full of crucial mistakes made by countries that tried to gain an advantage by hiding behind others and creating faits accomplis. There are certain examples in the region where Türkiye and Greece are located where such mistakes have had disastrous, even catastrophic consequences. Our region has already experienced enough disasters. It is time to say no to those who, sometimes with domestic political ambitions, want to add more disasters to these existing ones.

*Picture: MFA