Athens on alert over Ankara moves in Aegean

Athens is on alert over attempts by Ankara to press a revisionist agenda, most recently by issuing navigational warnings (NAVWARNS) which were seen as an attempt to obstruct the Greek naval training exercise “Kataigida ’20” that was originally scheduled to begin Monday.

All military exercises were postponed over the weekend amid concern over the spread of coronavirus.

The NAVWARNS promote Turkish positions on issues pertaining to its sea border disputes with Greece, with Ankara essentially accusing Athens of violating the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne.

Greece, for its part, views the specific NAVWARNS (684, 685 and 686/20) as invalid.

There is also concern in Athens over Ankara’s announcement of submarine exercises (Subnotes) close to the Aegean islands of Lemnos, Lesvos and Chios, in areas already reserved for exercises by the Hellenic Navy.

Last week, Athens rejected fresh claims by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu questioning the sovereignty of certain Greek islands and islets.