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Greece and Turkey face renewed tensions over Aegean marine protected areas

Turkey's establishment of two conservation zones near Greek islands has drawn protests from Athens, interrupting a diplomatic thaw between the neighbors.

Updated Aug 30, 2026 · 09:17 UTC1 reports

The short version

  • Turkey designated two marine protected areas in the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean, prompting Greece to label the move illegal and an attempt to challenge Greek sovereignty.
  • The dispute affects coastal jurisdictions and resource claims around Greek islands including Lemnos, Samothrace, Rhodes, and Kastellorizo.
  • The disagreement disrupts a period of improved bilateral relations that began following the February 2023 earthquake and the signing of the Athens Declaration later that year.
  • Greece continues to expand defense investments, including plans for an air defense system expected to be operational by 2029.

Key facts

  • Turkey established two marine parks in the northeastern Aegean and eastern Mediterranean, including areas near Lemnos, Samothrace, Rhodes, and Kastellorizo.[Deutsche Welle]
  • Greece's Foreign Ministry declared the Turkish marine parks illegal and without legal validity outside Turkey's territorial waters.[Deutsche Welle]
  • Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated that Greek sovereignty is defined by international law and that Greece remains prepared to defend it.[Deutsche Welle]
  • Greece created two marine parks in 2025 in the Ionian Islands and southern Cyclades within its own territorial waters.[Deutsche Welle]
  • According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Greece was the 19th largest major arms importer globally from 2021 to 2025.[Deutsche Welle]
  • The Greek Defense Ministry plans to deploy an air defense shield named the 'Achilles Shield' by 2029.[Deutsche Welle]

What remains uncertain

  • The extent to which legislative measures in Turkey's parliament will formally establish spatial control under the designated marine parks remains unclear.[Deutsche Welle]

Sources