Greek Foreign Minister Dendias Concedes The Demilitarized Status Of The Eastern Aegean Islands And The Dodecanese

The Eastern Aegean Islands are demilitarized in the framework of the Lausanne Peace Treaty. There is a direct linkage between the possession of sovereignty over Eastern Aegean Islands and their demilitarized status. Greece’s militarization of Eastern Aegean Islands amounts to “material breach” of the Lausanne Peace Treaty since their demilitarized status are essential to the accomplishment of the object or purpose of the mentioned peace treaty. The “material breach” of one of the basic articles of the any peace treaty might end up with an outcome that makes sovereignty over the islands mentioned in the corresponding article of the treaties which their provisions materially breached, questionable. One the other hand, the Dodecanese, which cover large islands such as Rhodes and small islands such as Castellorizo (Meis), which are in close proximity to the south and southwest coasts of Turkey, are also under demilitarized status pursuant to Article 14 of the 1947 Paris Treaty. Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias visited Moscow on February 18, 2022, on the eve of the recent military operation of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. During the joint press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, Dendias, in response to an unrelated question by an unidentified journalist about Turkey's questioning of Greek sovereignty over the large Eastern Aegean Islands conceded that both the Eastern Aegean Islands and the Dodecanese are under demilitarized status. It will not be surprising that Greece's material breach of the provisions of international multilateral treaties will cause unexpected serious problems for her in the coming period.