Greek opposition spokesman Kostas Tsoukalas has urged the government to ask the European Union to impose sanctions on Turkey over its Aegean maritime parks.
Tsoukalas, speaking for PASOK-Movement for Change, stated that the Greek government must not take a single step back from national red lines for as long as it remains in power.
He said the narrative of calm waters promoted by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was collapsing with a bang and exposing the dead ends of government foreign policy. He added that inaction by Athens would allow Turkey's Blue Homeland doctrine to become applied policy that directly threatens Greece.
Turkish maritime claims
According to Tsoukalas, Turkey continues its provocations through two newly defined marine parks in the Aegean Sea that brutally violate international law. He warned that pretending not to see the problem and failing to understand the international situation were equally dangerous stances.
Tsoukalas said the Turkish park designations challenge the legal effect of Greek islands in the Kastellorizo island complex, Samothrace, and Lemnos. He stated that the parks infringe on Greek sovereign rights by encompassing areas of the Greek continental shelf, territorial waters, and Exclusive Economic Zone.
PASOK-Movement for Change is Greece's primary center-left opposition party, while Mitsotakis leads the ruling New Democracy government. Relations between Athens and Ankara have long been strained by overlapping maritime boundaries and resource rights in the Aegean Sea.
Government inaction criticised
Tsoukalas urged the administration not to repeat what he described as previous inaction over Turkish moves. He highlighted earlier cases including the Turkish-Libyan maritime memorandum, the obstruction of subsea cable laying off the island of Kasos, and announced legislation on the Blue Homeland doctrine in the Turkish Grand National Assembly.
Tsoukalas concluded that voters backing PASOK at the ballot box would guarantee an alternative foreign policy to protect national rights, based on the principle that Greek sovereignty is non-negotiable.
