Turkey’s bid to legitimize 'illegal' territory claims doomed to fail – Greek FM

Turkey’s efforts to legitimize ‘illegal’ claims on Greek sovereign territory are doomed to fail because they are contrary to international law, Greece’s foreign minister said Monday. According to Nikos Kotzias, Turkey has submitted a document to the UN containing “erroneous positions” regarding Greek territory in the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean and is trying to present such claims as lawful. Kotzias said Monday that international law can’t be manipulated to suit such schemes, AP reports. Ankara disputes Greece’s ownership of a number of uninhabited islands in the eastern Aegean and eastern Mediterranean. Turkey also claims that part of an area where Cyprus is conducting an offshore gas search falls within its own continental shelf. Cyprus says its gas search fully abides by international law.