Rubio says military clash between Turkey, Greece ‘unthinkable’

ATHENS, October 8. /TASS/. A military conflict between Turkey and Greece stemming from their disagreements over the Aegean Sea is unfathomable, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview with the Greek newspaper Kathimerini.

Rubio was asked whether the United States would intervene if relations between Greece and Turkey in the Aegean Sea or in Cyprus deteriorated sharply, and whether it would prevent such a deterioration.

"It seems unthinkable to me that something like this could happen. These are two allies and two NATO partners - so it simply can’t happen. It won’t benefit anyone," Rubio replied.

"It won’t benefit Turkey or Greece, but it also won’t benefit the United States. So instead of even thinking about it, I would just say that for me it is unthinkable, something that we will never allow, and I do not believe that this will happen."

Turkey has not signed a UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, under which countries can expand their territorial waters up to 12 nautical miles. In 1995, during the ratification of this convention by the Greek parliament, Ankara said that if Greece expanded its territorial waters from six to 12 nautical miles in the Aegean Sea, it would be considered a violation of Turkey's national sovereignty and a casus belli. In recent years, Turkish politicians have continued to threaten Greece with war if it expands its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles in the Aegean Sea.

Turkey does not recognize Greece's 10-mile air zone around the islands, considering that Greek airspace, like territorial waters, is limited to six nautical miles. This is why Turkish fighters with weapons on board invade the Greek airspace and flight information area without providing a flight plan, and Athens raises its planes to intercept them. After a reduction in such violations in 2023 and a complete cessation in 2024, there was an upward trend in the last two years.