Aegean pact in the works
Athens and Ankara have agreed, in principle, on a resolution to their disagreements in the Aegean, sources have told Kathimerini. The likeliest scenario is that Turkey lifts its objections to Greece extending its territorial waters in the Aegean to 12 nautical miles but that this extension only applies to the coastline of its mainland, not the Greek islands. Practically this scenario would mean that Greece secures control of less than 80 percent of the Aegean. Sources say that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is keen for a consensus on the Aegean to be reached by the end of the year. During Erdogan’s visit to Athens on the weekend, Prime Minister George Papandreou reiterated Greece’s concern about ongoing transgressions of its air space by Turkish jets and urged Erdogan to make good on pledges to curb this activity.
