1.

0 INTRODUCTION

Turkey and Greece are one of a few long-standing rivalries with a century of history. This
never-ending conflict between the two countries has become so natural that there is a saying
that "Greeks and Turks are destined to be enemies." While armed conflict has never broken out
between the two neighbors, there have been several occasions when Turkey and Greece have
been on the verge of war. Given that they are NATO allies, this is a rather unusual situation.
After both countries joined NATO in 1952 and banded together to counter the Soviet Union
threat, tensions between the two countries deteriorated. Aside from the Cyprus issue, the
Aegean dispute was crucial between Turkey and Greece. For centuries, the Turks and Greeks
have fought to establish and extend their zones of jurisdiction over the Aegean Sea. From the
Turks' capture of Rhodes Island (Suleiman the Magnificent) in 1522 to Greece's independence
from the Ottoman Empire in 1832, the Aegean Sea was completely under Turkish control. The
Turks lost control of the Aegean Sea after Greek independence and the Balkan Wars (1912),
and the Greeks established zones of influence over it. However, relations deteriorated again in
1974 as a result of the Cyprus issue and several military clashes over the Aegean dispute. The
securitization of the Aegean issue resulted in political crises between Greece and Turkey,
making the development of political and economic relations, as well as negotiations for the
resolution of problems between two countries through dialogue and diplomacy, difficult. After
both countries experienced two major earthquakes, which resulted in a change in relations, a
period of relative normalisation began. Especially given the Greek government's stance on
Turkey's accession to the European Union.

Despite the fact that Turkey and Greece were both members of the Western Trans-
Atlantic Alliance after the war, relations between the two countries have been strained. Recent
disputes over the Aegean Sea and Cyprus have fueled ongoing international battles, with each
side undermining the other by promoting zero-sum agendas. In the last 40 years, the two
countries have narrowly avoided war on several occasions, including in 1987 and 1996 (Dokos
et al. 2018).Greece used its veto power as an affiliate of the European Economic Community to
limit Turkey's funding and association with the regional body in response to aggressive Turkish
behaviour. It is critical to note that the change in Greek strategy toward its Aegean neighbour
was caused by the European Union's influence on its foreign policy, the opportunities afforded

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by EU membership, and globalisation. Despite Greece and Turkey's efforts to resolve disputes
such as the Aegean issue, the Treaty of Lausanne continues to harm relations between the two
countries.

The Aegean issue is one of three components of the Greek-Turkish conflict. The other
two elements are the minority problem, which is linked to the Aegean dispute, and the Turkish
army's partial occupation of Cyprus, which has its own dynamic. The Aegean dispute is made
up of various points of contention. To begin with, Greece and Turkey disagree on the
continental shelf. Second, they disagree on the length of territorial waters and national air
space. Third, Greece disputes Turkey's ownership claims to several islets and islands. Finally,
they disagree on the military status of the Aegean islands (Gunduz, 2001).

Before delving into the issue, it is important to note that the Aegean dispute is extremely
detailed in many ways. As this is a very long and detailed subject, this assignment will focus on
the conflict between Turkey and Greece in the Aegean dispute, factors involved, parties
involved and recommendation that can affects this situation.

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 Figure 1: Map of Aegean Sea

Source: CIA,2003 Yearbook

2.0 RECOMMENDATIONS

Even though the sea appears calm today, Greece and Turkey are still far from agreeing on a
solution to the dispute, let alone a process to get there. To find a long-term solution, both
countries must act rather than simply talk about improving relations. They also abandon all of
the political games they've been playing since the beginning of the conflict. However, the main
issue here is a lack of trust between Turkey and Greece, as well as the rise of nationalism in

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both countries. Therefore, in this section will provides several recommendation on how the two
contries solve the conflict of Aegean sea.

4.1 Drilling and exploration activities are being paused.

Talk of resolving the crisis is appealing, but it is unrealistic at this point, especially in such a
short period of time. As previously stated, there are multiple crises that must be addressed. For
example, tensions between Turkey and France are distinct from long-running maritime disputes
between Turkey and Greece. Instead of attempting to strike a grand bargain in the eastern
Mediterranean, Germany, which is leading European diplomacy on the subject, and the EU
should first focus their diplomacy and mediation on de-escalating the crisis between Ankara
and Athens, thus separating Turkish-Greek maritime disputes from broader geopolitical power
plays in the region. If serious negotiations are to begin, both parties must agree to halt drilling
and exploration activities in the contested waters for at least a period of time.

4.2 Organizing International Conferences To Promote Dialogue And De-Escalation

The second suggestion is that the two countries abandon the "zero sum" approach, which holds
that one country's loss is the other country's gain. It is critical to cultivate the belief that
solutions that are mutually beneficial to both countries' interests can be found. In today's world,
the perception that the neighbor's point of view and interests must be considered is critical.
Dialogue, mediation, and negotiations are all part of peaceful dispute resolution. A series of
international meetings and conferences could serve as an effective de-escalation mechanism.
For example, Turkey has previously called for a conference of eastern Mediterranean littoral
countries to discuss their differences, while European Council President Charles Michel has
called for an international conference (Daily Sabah, 2020). At this point, an international
conference with participants from countries bordering the eastern Mediterranean, as well as
Europe and NATO, could be a good place to begin dealing with the crisis in a multilateral
framework. As a result, this approach could be used to generate solutions to the Greece-Turkey
conflict.

4.3 Promoting a bold EU plan to deal with the conflict

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Thirdly, the European Union's role in this matter cannot be denied. There have been some
improvements since the resolution of the Aegean dispute became essential for Turkey's
accession to the EU and was referred to in the Presidency Conclusions of the 1999 Helsinki
European Council. However, given what has happened in Turkey and Greece in recent years, a
solution does not appear to be possible in the near future. The Aegean problem is so deep-
rooted that it does not appear to be solvable. Maybe if Turkey becomes a member of the EU,
which seems unlikely at the moment, the dispute will (have to) resolve itself. The dispute has
been going on for decades, and no one has come up with a reasonable solution. So perhaps it is
time to delegate authority to a supranational organisation.

4.4 Removing Decision-Making Authority From Military Personnel On The Ground

Greece and Turkey have already agreed to establish a NATO-level de-confliction mechanism
(Robin, 2020). This is a positive development that reduces, but does not eliminate, the
possibility of an accident or incident between the two parties. To reduce this risk even further,
it is critical that the disputing parties make decisions at the national level and do not delegate
any major decision-making authority to military personnel on the ground. As demonstrated by
Turkey's downing of a Russian fighter jet in 2015, empowering military personnel on the
ground with major decision-making power always risks miscalculation and unintended
escalation (Nicole, 2015)

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RUJUKAN

Dokos, Thanos, et al. “Turkish Relations and the Cyprus Dispute : Impact on Turkey-EU
Scenarios.” The Future of EU-Turkey Relations: Mapping Dynamics and Testing Scenarios, no.
27, 2018. Web.

“President Erdoğan calls for joint formula to protect rights of all East Med,” Daily Sabah,
August 10, 2020, https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/diplomacy/president-erdogan-calls-for-
joint-formula-to-protect-rights-of-all-east-med; “Michel calls for conference on
East Mediterranean,” Europe Diplomatic, September 6,
2020, https://europediplomatic.com/2020/09/06/michel-calls-for-conference-on-east-
mediterranean/.