Dendias: Kastellorizo crucial in Greece’s EEZ, continental shelf
The remote eastern island of Kastellorizo in the Dodecanese on Friday celebrated the 81st anniversary of its liberation with the attendance of Defense Minister Nikos Dendias.
Dendias emphasized the island’s significant geopolitical importance and its crucial role in Greece’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf. Greece’s position on Kastellorizo, which is part of the Megisti complex, is “clear and fully supported by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea,” Dendias said. “Article 121, Paragraph 2 of the Convention grants islands, regardless of their size, territorial waters, contiguous zones, EEZ and continental shelves,” he added, noting that any contrary view is unacceptable and that Greece has a constitutional obligation to defend its rights under the Law of the Sea.
Allowing any violation would create a legal paradox and challenge international maritime law. “Any attempt to separate the island from the Dodecanese because of its proximity to the Turkish coast, or any special treatment of Kastellorizo outside the international legal framework and The Hague, is an unfounded claim,” Dendias said.
