THE AEGEAN PROBLEM İN RELATİONS BETWEEN TURKEY AND GREECE

Abstract

Throughout history, there have been enmity, confrontation, conflicts, controversial issues, as well as friendly relations between Greece and Turkey.

There were several wars and conflicts between the two countries in the 20^th century. However, since 1999, Turkish-Greek relations have entered a new era based on cooperation and dialogue in various fields. At the same time, official relations between Greece and Turkey improved as a result of the Greek government's support for Turkey's EU membership efforts, but some problems were not resolved.

One of these disputes is related to the delimitation of territorial sea in the Aegean Sea. The problem in the Aegean Sea arises from disputes over the continental shelf and territorial waters. It should be noted that the resolution of this dispute is of keen interest not only to Greece and Turkey, but also to European countries, Russia and Israel. The discovery of new oil and gas deposits in the Eastern Mediterranean further complicates the problem. If the dispute is resolved in favor of Turkey, then these fields will belong to the territorial waters of Southern Cyprus if it is resolved in favor of Turkey and Greece. This is a factor that directly affects Europe's energy dependence on Russia. Therefore, when proposing a solution to a problem, it becomes necessary to conduct both legal and political analysis.

The purpose of the research is to study the period between Turkey and Greece from the end of the 20^th century to the beginning of the 21^st century, the development of bilateral and multilateral political relations, trade, economic, transport, tourism, cultural and educational relations, as well as a detailed examination of the problems existing between the two countries. One of the important factors determining the relevance of the study is the comprehensive development of relations between the two countries and the study of existing problems between them.

In general, there is progress between Turkey and Greece in diplomatic, political, trade, economic, transport, tourism, cultural and educational relations. To resolve existing problems between the two countries through dialogue, various mechanisms have been established, such as political discussions, meetings and the High-Level Cooperation Council, and the number of high-level official visits has increased recently. High-level Cooperation Council meetings are organized alternately in Turkey and Greece under the coordination of the heads of government and foreign ministers of both countries.

It can be concluded that the most beneficial option is to provide these islands with 3 nautical miles of territorial waters, as provided for in the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923 and the Treaty of Paris of 1947. Given the unchanged position of both countries, it is recommended to resolve the issue of delimitation of territorial waters in the Aegean Sea within the framework of the above principles and methods in order to prevent this crisis from becoming global.