Eastern Greece and Turkey face each other in the Aegean Sea, both geographically and in terms of territorial disputes. This historical struggle between Greece and Turkey has been aggravated since the discovery of underwater ressources. Context of the Aegean dispute Historical origins and treaties The Aegean Sea has a surface area of 83,000 miles and contains over 150 islands. The dispute began in 1829 with Greece’s emancipation from the Ottoman Empire and continued through treaty’s attempts to resolve the conflict. After the Second Balkan War, Greece expanded its territory by including Crete thanks to the Treaty of Athens made to sanction the Ottoman for the First Balkan War. Most of the Aegean islands became Greek in the same year, the Treaty of Athens in 1913 gave Greece the northern islands in the Aegean and the Treaty of Bucharest gave Greece the Dodecanese islands, Lemnos, Thasos and Somthrace. However, Greece had to demilitarize these islands according to the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923. This treaty also requires Greece and Turkey to keep the Dardanelles open to civilian ships and the islands of Imbros and Tenedos demilitarized. These last two islands were given to Turkey by the treaty signed after the Greek-Turkish … Continue reading Aegean Sea dispute: What are the main causes of the maritime dispute between Greece and Turkey?