Developments in maritime zones and regional geopolitical disputes in the Eastern Mediterranean

Since 1974, Turkey has engaged in various military actions across Cyprus, Libya, Syria, and Iraq. In 1995, Turkey declared a casus belli regarding the potential exercise of Greek sovereign rights in the Aegean. In 2000, the European Union commissioned the University of Seville to map the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) of member states, resulting in a map showing the Greek and Cypriot zones as contiguous. While former Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos advocated for the delimitation of an EEZ between Greece and Cyprus, successive Greek governments did not proceed with this action. In 2019, Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding with Libya, which was criticized by the EU and European Parliament as illegal for infringing upon Greek and Cypriot maritime rights. In response to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Greece and Cyprus joined the European Union in implementing sanctions against Russia in accordance with international law.