By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk
Greece rejected Türkiye's objections to its new renewable-energy spatial framework on Thursday, accusing Ankara of repeating "revisionist positions" and insisting that sovereignty in the Aegean is settled by international treaties.
The Greek Foreign Ministry was responding to Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Öncü Keçeli, who said Wednesday that Greece's Special Spatial Framework for Renewable Energy Sources would have no legal consequences for Türkiye.
Athens called the Turkish claims unfounded and unacceptable. It also noted that Ankara had issued a similar objection only 12 days earlier after Greece adopted a separate spatial framework for tourism.
The ministry said the two statements showed Türkiye was persisting with what Greece considers revisionist positions without legal basis.
Athens Says Aegean Sovereignty Is Settled by Treaty
The Greek response focused heavily on sovereignty.
Athens said the status of sovereignty in the Aegean had been clearly and definitively established by international treaties and was not open to question. Any position to the contrary violated international law and would receive an "appropriate response," the ministry said.
It did not say what such a response would involve.
Türkiye takes a different position. Keçeli said the renewable-energy framework, which also covers the Aegean, could not alter Ankara's legal position on what it describes as interconnected Aegean disputes.
That position includes geographical formations whose sovereignty Türkiye says was not transferred to Greece through international treaties.
Keçeli also said unilateral measures should be avoided in closed and semi-enclosed seas and argued that international maritime law encourages cooperation between coastal states.
The Turkish Defense Ministry repeated that position during its weekly briefing on Thursday, saying the Greek framework would have no legal effect on Türkiye's rights and interests in the Aegean.
Greece Recognizes One Bilateral Dispute
The exchange also shows that Ankara and Athens do not agree on what belongs inside the Aegean dispute.
Türkiye refers to several interconnected issues. Greece said Thursday that it recognizes only one bilateral dispute with Türkiye: delimitation of the continental shelf and exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Athens said it remained committed to dialogue and good-neighborly relations within that definition and under international law.
Türkiye's position extends beyond continental shelf and EEZ delimitation. Ankara also raises questions involving the status of geographical formations, territorial waters, airspace and other maritime jurisdiction issues.
Second Spatial Planning Clash in 12 Days
The dispute is the second over a Greek spatial-planning measure this month.
On August 7, Türkiye objected to Greece's Special Spatial Framework for Tourism, saying the measure could not create legal consequences for Ankara or change its position on Aegean disputes.
Bosphorus News reported that the tourism framework divided Greece into new development zones without explicitly referring to Türkiye or the Aegean dispute.
Greece's renewable-energy framework entered into force on August 19. Ankara responded a day later with language closely matching its tourism-plan objection, prompting Thursday's formal reply from Athens.
The exchange comes as other Aegean files are active again. Greek authorities have reported increased Turkish military aviation activity, while preparations are advancing for another attempt at seabed surveys linked to the Great Sea Interconnector.
The immediate dispute concerns a renewable-energy planning document. Behind it sits a long-standing difference over which Aegean questions can be treated as bilateral disputes at all.
Sources: Hellenic Republic Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Türkiye's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Türkiye's Ministry of National Defence, Bosphorus News review and reporting.