Turkey is preparing to submit a bill to the parliament that would limit its maritime jurisdiction in the disputed areas of the Aegean and Mediterranean seas, Bloomberg reports, citing its sources. The move could increase tensions in the region, where disputes over natural gas fields already exist and continue.
According to the sources, the draft law is Ankara's first step to officially establish its claims and claim rights to potential natural gas reserves.
Turkey intends to defend its interests as well as those of the self-proclaimed "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" in the ongoing "gas race" in the Eastern Mediterranean, a region where territorial ambitions intersect.
Earlier, the high-ranking ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned about the risks in the field of security and energy cooperation between France, Greece, Cyprus and Israel.
Devlet Bahceli, the leader of the "Nationalist Movement" party, announced in the parliament.
"Turkey is not a country looking for tension. However, any action that ignores its rights, maritime jurisdiction or the rights of the Turkish Cypriots will be met with a decisive response."
Greece claims that the islands can form the borders of the continental shelf according to international law. Turkey rejects that approach, insisting that the shelf should be calculated exclusively from the continental part.
It is expected that the law will for the first time officially enshrine the Turkish position, but the dates of the discussion of the document are still unknown.
Turkey's potential ambitions could again strain relations with EU members Greece and Cyprus.
