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Conflict between Turkey and Greece about territorial waters

Thanks to modern technology, it is now possible to extract more gas and oil in the eastern part of the Mediterranean than in the past. As a result, a conflict has once again erupted between Turkey and Greece, in which Turkey is making claim to part of the Mediterranean Sea around Cyprus.

According to customary international law, however, Turkey only has a limited claim to parts of the Mediterranean. Its much smaller neighbour Greece holds a monopoly position because nearly all the islands in the Aegean Sea belong to it.  

‘This is very hard for Turkey’ says Nico Schrijver, Professor of Public International Law, in Dutch newspaper NRC 'but the current rules are customary international law. If Turkey were to challenge the current division of the territorial waters at the International Court of Justice or the Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg, I don’t believe they would have a chance of winning.’

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