A new draft bill for Türkiye’s maritime rights is expected to be presented to Parliament in weeks. Aiming to cover all legal aspects of what Türkiye calls the “Blue Homeland,” or maritime areas where the country has sovereignty, it will cement and clarify the rights across Black Sea, Aegean Sea, Mediterranean, as well as the Marmara Sea.

Safeguarding the Blue Homeland rights is essential for Ankara, especially at a time of growing international cooperation, particularly with Israel, for Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration, whose maritime claims contradict those of Türkiye and other countries.

Hüseyin Fazla, founder and director of Strategic Research Centre (STRASAM) and a retired air force brigadier general, says the bill will be a valuable work to merge all relevant regulations under one framework and further institutionalize Türkiye’s maritime rights.

The bill was introduced to the public on May 12 at a press conference organized by Ankara University’s National Center for the Sea and Maritime Law (DEHUKAM), the main body that prepares maritime maps to support Türkiye’s maritime jurisdiction policies. Professor Çağrı Erhan, acting chair of the Turkish Presidency’s Board of Security and Foreign Policies, told the press conference that maritime laws have been dynamic and Türkiye needed to follow developments in the laws. He said the draft bill was not specifically aimed at any country.

“We are talking about a text based on the rights and interests of the Turkish nation. Other countries may believe that the world belongs to them only. We do not heed what they are worried about,” he said, in thinly veiled remarks against Greece.

Fazla says the press conference was an indicator of a turning point in Türkiye’s maritime vision, and the bill would grant authority to Parliament, but mostly to the presidency, for executing the maritime rights.

As expected, the talk of a draft bill angered Greece, which has disputed Türkiye’s rights, particularly in the Aegean, for decades. Indeed, both Ankara and Athens agree that this might be the sole dispute that may take more time to resolve than others between two neighbors with a history of hostilities. They reached out to each other in the past decade, with more visits by leaders and warming diplomatic ties, but no tangible progress has been made on maritime disputes. Instead, Türkiye has witnessed Greece and Greek Cypriots on the divided island of Cyprus; how they cohabited with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), engaging in more cooperation with countries like Israel, a major foe of Türkiye, on defense and other critical fields. In light of these developments, Blue Homeland rights became a more crucial issue.

“I think the work on the bill is very beneficial for raising awareness of the issue among politicians, the army, the bureaucracy and the public. It ultimately aims to protect Türkiye’s rights and interests. Nevertheless, this has an international dimension too, and it would be important to see the international reaction,” Fazla told Daily Sabah.

Over the past century, the Republic of Türkiye has been at odds with its neighbors over maritime rights. Similarly, Greece invoked international laws that are also supposed to protect the rights of Türkiye. Fazla says the draft bill brings a fresh point of view to “a mechanism where Türkiye strived to maintain control over its maritime jurisdiction through various laws and regulations,” noting that it was significant to amalgamate steps on the issues regarding continental shelf, exclusive economic zones, etc. He added that the draft also included the definition of internal bodies of water, such as the Çanakkale Strait, Marmara Sea and Bosporus, and this was another significant aspect of the bill. “This, on the other hand, does not contradict the Treaty of Montreaux and rather, it is a viewpoint reinforcing Türkiye’s sovereign rights,” he said.

Signed on July 20, 1936, at the Montreaux Palace in Switzerland, the treaty gives Türkiye permission to remilitarize the Bosporus and Çanakkale Strait. It came into effect on Nov. 9, 1936, and was registered in the League of Nations Treaty Series on Dec. 11, 1936. It gives Türkiye control over the Bosporus and Çanakkale Strait and regulates the transit of naval warships. The convention guarantees free passage to civilian vessels in times of peace and restricts the passage of naval ships that do not belong to littoral Black Sea states. Fazla said it was not right to describe it as a violation of the treaty while it was simply a redefinition of the legal framework.

Last Thursday, Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis said that Türkiye’s bill was “an unilateral attempt outside the framework of international law” and would “fail.” He stated that it would not have “any international enforcement” and added that the international law, including the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) should prevail over “domestic visions.” Türkiye is not a party to the 1982 convention and defends that the convention’s certain provisions are not based on the principle of equity.

Filling the gaps

Fazla said he believed that the new law would fill the gaps in Türkiye’s attempts to assert its maritime rights and zone of influence. This is essential, according to Fazla, on several levels. One of them is hydrocarbon exploration. As a matter of fact, sovereign rights are intricately linked to the right to access to underwater resources. He pointed out Greece’s declaration of intent to extend its territorial waters from 6 nautical miles to 12 nautical miles and how it brought about several disputes. “But the real issue is beyond that and is now more focused on exclusive economic zones, especially access to hydrocarbon resources,” Fazla said. He recalled the emergence of several oil exploration areas in 2007, south of Cyprus, and how the Greek Cypriot administration declared issuing licenses for 13 areas of oil exploration, including five within the Turkish continental shelf.

“They de facto seized these areas and brought in multiple actors such as Noble Energy. They made deals with Egypt. In 2003, Turkish Foreign Ministry warned Egypt but their relations thrived and in February 2003, Egypt and the Greek Cypriot administration reached a deal. They sought to safeguard their own interests in the Eastern Mediterranean,” he said.

On the legal history of maritime disputes, Fazla noted that Türkiye has also not been a party to the 1958 Convention on the Continental Shelf adopted in Geneva but all developments regarding the maritime issues affected Türkiye to an extent. “Conventionally, Türkiye’s territorial waters are designated as extending 6 nautical miles, specifically in the Aegean, but it is practiced as 12 miles in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. This is, however, a ‘practice,’ a customary designation. In 1964, Türkiye enacted Law No. 476 and established the breadth of its territorial waters as 6 nautical miles. It does not specify any seas. Therefore, Türkiye, for instance, has no strict delimitation in the Black Sea. Having the breadth of 12 miles in the Black Sea has been viewed as acceptable in terms of Türkiye’s rights and interests,” he said. Fazla noted that Türkiye then enacted the Territorial Waters Law or Law No. 2674 in 1982, and this also established the breadth of territorial waters as 6 miles in the Aegean.

He noted that the new bill will likely combine what is practiced and what was defined in the law and bring about more clarity to the issue. “It will help define our policies,” he underlined.

Türkiye has been adamant in safeguarding its rights in territorial waters, something that has been most vivid in a 1995 resolution passed by the Turkish Parliament, mentioned by Fazla. On June 8 that year, Parliament declared that any unilateral extension of the Greek territorial waters beyond 6 nautical miles in the Aegean Sea would be a casus belli or a cause of war. “This is our red line. However, we don’t implement 6 miles in the Black Sea or Mediterranean and 12-mile practice there did not stir up problems with any country,” he underlined.

That “war” Parliament predicted in the future never happened, but Turkish and Greek jets often engaged in confrontations over the Aegean Sea in the 1990s, coming dangerously close to an all-out conflict. Fazla says tensions may linger in the future, especially in terms of the breadth of Greek territorial waters off the island of Meis or Kastellorizo. The said island is just a few kilometers away from the Turkish coast and more than 300 kilometers from the Greek mainland.

Fazla said that Türkiye, however, should keep the parliamentary resolution on casus belli even after implementing the law. “Anything to imply the removal of casus belli may play into the hands of Greece, and in the Aegean, we may have a diplomatic challenge,” he noted.

A response by Greece to Türkiye’s bill, such as enforcing a 12 nautical miles claim, will be unacceptable for Türkiye, Fazla noted. “Türkiye cannot accept, neither in terms of territorial waters nor airspace, a limit going above 6 miles. If the de facto situation is upgraded to de jure and we are severely limited in movement across the Aegean, this will be an unsustainable situation,” he said. Fazla believed Türkiye’s 6-mile claim in the Aegean will likely be emphasized in the draft bill. “We need to embed our discourse on this matter into law. We are seeing a dynamic course in the international developments. The decision-makers need to act swiftly nowadays. Therefore, I think it is correct to authorize the presidency to make swift decisions,” he said. Fazla said the bill may have amendments in the future, but ultimately, it is expected to “pave the way for a structure compliant both with internal laws and international laws.”

“Ultimately, we will switch to a stable law, an institutional mechanism. For instance, the army and the foreign ministry may have different views on this matter but clarifying the matter and authorizing the presidency will be a more correct way forward,” he added.

Regional influence

Fazla stated that Türkiye needed a more proactive approach instead of “waiting and seeing” as geopolitical conditions changed, giving examples of discoveries of new energy resources and creation of new regional alliances. “Türkiye is already becoming a regional power. We have to transform into the role of the main actor setting the rules itself, we have to project our power,” he underlined. He noted that exclusive economic zones were particularly important and that Türkiye should have a law that will not allow others to utilize those zones. “What we have to do is to support our Blue Homeland discourse with a law,” he said.

He pointed out Türkiye’s maritime activities in several seas, from seismic survey in the Eastern Mediterranean to the Turkish navy’s presence off the coast of Somalia, as well as the work on the extraction of natural gas off Sakarya in northwestern Türkiye.

“These activities will likely grow. So, it will be better to define those activities under one law, which will be more beneficial. We have to employ our own ships in our own exclusive zone without any obstruction. The world is investing more in energy security. So, we need to support our new discoveries and developments regarding access to hydrocarbon sources with laws. The law should also cover future developments. We have to have a legal infrastructure, instead of being forced to confront other countries in the maritime activities,” he emphasized.

Among other benefits of the law, Fazla lists attracting international financing for energy investments and guarantees over Türkiye’s exclusive economic zones. “In the end, it will help make Türkiye the land of stability in the energy supply security. It will eliminate the risk of uncertainty. For instance, we will have a framework through the law, for our agreement with Libya.”

Germany on Monday will host Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. Fidan will join the third meeting of the Türkiye-Germany Strategic Dialogue Mechanism. The platform is meant to enhance bilateral relations as well as Türkiye’s ties with the European Union.

He will co-chair the meeting with his German counterpart, Johann Wadephul. The meeting will bring together working groups from Türkiye and Germany, which will present reports on the course of bilateral relations, Türkiye-EU relations, security and defense and regional issues.

Turkish diplomatic sources said Fidan would highlight Türkiye’s appreciation of the constructive atmosphere and strengthening dialogue between the two countries, thanks to increasing high-level contacts. He will also underline his conviction that the Strategic Dialogue Mechanism provided a beneficial ground to assess the strategic dimension of bilateral relations and for reinforcing cooperation and synchronization between foreign ministries and talks as part of the meeting would enhance bilateral ties and deepen existing fields of cooperation.

Turkish-German relations have a historic depth and are built upon a strong partnership between the two NATO allies. They also have a multi-layered structure on political, economic, social and security levels. High-level contacts in recent years have contributed to the ties. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan last visited Germany in November 2023, while German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier paid a visit to Türkiye in February 2025. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was in Türkiye for a two-day visit in 2025, coinciding with Türkiye’s Republic Day. Fidan was in Germany for an official visit in November 2025, while Wadephul made two visits to Türkiye in October 2025 and this March.

Türkiye is the second biggest trade partner of Germany and eyes increasing current level from $52.2 billion (TL 2.38 trillion) to $60 billion. Between 2005 and 2025, German investments in Türkiye reached to $13.5 billion, while Türkiye’s direct investments in Germany exceeded $4.7 billion in the same period. The two countries are also scheduled to hold a new meeting of the Joint and Trade Commission (JETCO) and the 7th Energy Forum in June in Ankara. Türkiye is a major destination for German tourists. A total of 6.7 million tourists from Germany visited Türkiye last year.

The Strategic Dialogue Mechanism between the two countries was established in May 2013 with a joint declaration signed in Berlin, with the intent of bringing an institutional perspective and strategic dimension to the relations and supporting Türkiye’s EU membership bid. The mechanism had its first meeting in Berlin in May 2013 and the last one in 2014 in Istanbul. After the long hiatus, Erdoğan and Merz announced at their joint news conference in Ankara in October 2025 that they had decided to resume the Mechanism’s meetings.

Diplomatic sources said Fidan would also discuss the Turkish diaspora in Germany and underline that they were the main element empowering the social aspect of Turkish-German relations, and it was crucial to ensure their safety and prosperity. He will also stress the opportunities for advancing trade and economic partnership and mutual investments.

Separately, Fidan will highlight the will to advance existing cooperation in connectivity, high technology, digitalization and green energy and bring attention to the fact that the Energy Forum and JETCO meeting will carry cooperation to new horizons and contribute to developing economic ties with the goal of reaching $60 billion joint trade volume.

The top diplomat will also point out the significant potential of connectivity projects linking Europe to the Middle East, the South Caucasus and Central Asia via Türkiye for cooperation and exchange views with German officials for joint projects to build upon military relations and for cooperation in the defense industry.

On Türkiye-EU relations, Fidan will highlight the need to advance relations on a comprehensive, institutionalized and multilayered cooperation basis, according to the diplomatic sources. He will also underline the importance of the launch of negotiations for updating the customs union and the revival of the visa liberalization dialogue. He will bring attention to Germany’s support for the customs union as a critical element for unlocking the full potential of Turkish-German economic partnership and will stress that a European security strategy will be lacking if it ignores Türkiye’s strategic role, capabilities and geopolitical position. He will underline that Türkiye should be included in EU-led security and defense initiatives, as well as projects and strategies.

Developments in the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine conflict will also be on the agenda during the visit. Fidan will tell German officials that multilateral efforts for ensuring maritime passage freedom through the Strait of Hormuz and regional stability were crucial and reiterate Türkiye’s support for efforts for a permanent end to the U.S.-Iran war. Fidan will highlight that a fair and lasting solution through direct talks between Russia and Ukraine is essential, and Türkiye will continue to act in synchronization to that extent with all relevant actors, to re-establish dialogue between Russia and Ukraine.

On Israel, Fidan will underline that Israel’s expansionist policies were the main factor for regional instability and insecurity and urge attention to escalating violations of the cease-fire in Gaza by the Netanyahu administration, as well as Israel’s policies aimed at undermining the two-state solution vision. He will call for more efficient action by the international community to ensure lasting regional peace and stability.

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Turkish authorities detained 57 suspects in a corruption investigation looking into the procurement processes at an Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) subsidiary, police said Monday.

The operation targeted Boğaziçi Facility Management Services (Boğaziçi Tesis Yönetim Hizmetleri A.Ş.), where investigators said several tenders were organized by suspects who manipulated the bidding process and made transactions that violate public procurement regulations.

The authorities said the activities amounted to bid rigging conducted within an organized network.

Officers from the Istanbul Police Department’s Financial Crimes Unit launched simultaneous raids across six provinces, including Istanbul, Adana, Bursa, Diyarbakir, Konya and Yalova. The suspects were detained during operations at multiple addresses, officials said.

The detainees were handed over to Istanbul police for questioning as the investigation continues.

Former mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoğlu, was arrested on March 19 last year on a string of corruption charges, including bribery, tender rigging and money laundering.

Held in pretrial detention ever since, prosecutors want him jailed for up to 2,430 years. The 107 defendants, including Imamoğlu, began testifying in custody on March 9.

Prosecutors accuse suspects of inflicting a “public expense loss” amounting to TL 161 billion ($3.8 billion) through bribes. A total of 402 suspects have been indicted in the case, including 105 who were remanded in custody. Imamoğlu is among them.

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Türkiye on Monday marked the 82nd anniversary of the displacement of the Crimean Tatars and the 162nd anniversary of the Circassian Exile, describing both as profound humanitarian tragedies that continue to shape collective memory and regional politics.

In a written statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said hundreds of thousands of Crimean Tatars were forcibly deported from their homeland by Soviet authorities in 1944, with many dying in labor camps or from harsh living conditions during exile.

“The suffering of the Crimean Tatars, the indigenous people of Crimea, has become even heavier following the illegal annexation of the peninsula,” the ministry said, reaffirming Türkiye’s support for the preservation of the Crimean Tatars’ national identity, language and culture, as well as their security and welfare.

The ministry also marked the anniversary of the Circassian Exile of 1864, calling it “a major humanitarian tragedy” that forced the peoples of the Caucasus to leave their homeland under severe conditions and caused immense suffering and loss throughout the region.

“We share the pain of the Crimean Tatars and the brotherly peoples of the Caucasus and commemorate those who lost their lives with respect and mercy,” the statement added.

Separately, the Embassy of Ukraine in Türkiye hosted a memorial event in Ankara to mark the anniversary of the Crimean Tatar deportation.

The ceremony, hosted by the Ukrainian Ambassador to Türkiye Nariman Dzhelyal, was attended by foreign diplomats and guests.

Speaking at the event, Dzhelyal recalled how Soviet soldiers entered Crimean Tatar homes on May 18, 1944, and forcibly deported families over the course of several days. He said the majority of those exiled were women, children and the elderly.

“This was not relocation or evacuation. This was genocide,” Dzhelyal noted.

He stated that nearly half of the Crimean Tatar population died during the journey or within the first year of exile due to hunger, disease and inhumane living conditions.

Dzhelyal also accused Soviet authorities of systematically erasing Crimean Tatar identity by renaming villages, closing schools and confiscating property.

Following Ukraine’s independence, many Crimean Tatar families returned to Crimea, he said, but argued that Russia’s 2014 annexation of the peninsula brought back “the same logic of repression, fear and colonial violence.”

Dzhelyal said Crimea has since become an area marked by militarization, political repression and demographic engineering, claiming that between 500,000 and 800,000 Russian citizens have been resettled in the peninsula since 2014.

Reaffirming Kyiv’s position, Dzhelyal said: “Crimea is Ukraine. Crimean Tatars are the indigenous people of Crimea. Their rights to their land, identity, language, self-governance and future are not negotiable.”

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The Cabinet meeting set to be held in Ankara on Monday will be chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, marking the first since he returned from Kazakhstan, where he attended high-level meetings and oversaw the signing of cooperation deals.

The terror-free Türkiye initiative and economy will be among the topics discussed by ministers, media outlets reported on Sunday.

On foreign policy, ministers will discuss possible negotiations between the U.S. and neighboring Iran on the fate of their lingering conflict and Türkiye’s efforts to ensure a lasting cease-fire. Ministers will also talk about the impact of the deadlock in the Strait of Hormuz on the Turkish economy. Another topic will be policies for the diversification of energy resources.

Ministers will also discuss the latest stage of the terror-free Türkiye initiative and legal steps to speed up the process, based on reports of security forces monitoring the disarmament of the terrorist group PKK. The initiative, which appears delayed, is expected to pick up pace again within weeks, media reports said on Sunday, referring to the completion of a report on the surveillance of the PKK’s disarmament. If the disarmament is confirmed, the Turkish Parliament will likely start working on legal amendments for the future of PKK members, including lenient sentences for surrendering members as well as early release for convicted members of the terrorist group under certain conditions. Terror-free Türkiye is the brainchild of Devlet Bahçeli, leader of government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), who recently suggested that the PKK’s jailed ringleader, Abdullah Öcalan, should be given a new status to advance the process, and Türkiye should establish a “Peace Coordination” office for further legitimacy of the process.

President Erdoğan on Saturday said Türkiye desired to divest funds allocated for counterterrorism to “expenditures for education, science, employment, transportation and technology.” Addressing a youth event in northwestern Türkiye’s Kocaeli, Erdoğan said that the ultimate goal of terror-free Türkiye was ensuring peace and the safety of future generations.

The Cabinet meeting will also concentrate on the outcome of the informal summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), which the president attended earlier this week in Kazakhstan with a delegation of ministers and top officials, as well as bilateral relations with Kazakhstan.

Speaking to reporters aboard his return flight from Kazakhstan on Friday, Erdoğan said that Türkiye and Kazakhstan elevated bilateral ties through a new Declaration on Eternal Friendship and Expanded Strategic Partnership signed during his visit to Astana and Turkistan. He said he held comprehensive talks with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on bilateral relations as well as regional and global developments during the sixth meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council.

“We confirmed our satisfaction with the course of our relations and our determination to deepen cooperation in every field,” Erdoğan said, noting that 12 agreements were signed in various sectors alongside the joint declaration.

Highlighting growing economic ties, Erdoğan said nearly 5,500 Turkish companies have invested around $6 billion in Kazakhstan across sectors ranging from construction and finance to tourism and information technology, while Turkish contractors have undertaken projects worth nearly $30 billion.

He said the two countries aim to increase bilateral trade volume from $10 billion to $15 billion and stressed the importance of energy cooperation, including the transportation of Kazakh oil through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.

On the OTS summit, where leaders signed the Turkistan Declaration, Erdoğan said the declaration “aims to make our existing cooperation more effective through digitalization and artificial intelligence opportunities.”

“Through the declaration, we also agreed on the need to strengthen institutional integration processes among Turkic states in line with the requirements of the digital age,” he added.

Another topic on the agenda of the Cabinet is the upcoming Eid al-Adha, or Qurban Bayram, a Muslim holiday which will be marked next week. The ministers will discuss measures for the occasion where hundreds of thousands of people travel between cities. Traffic accidents at the peak of Eid travel claim dozens of lives every year. The Eid is also an occasion where the faithful slaughter sacrificial animals and an occasion of mass movement of animals, especially cows and sheep, between the marketplaces of the cities.

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Turkish authorities have issued detention warrants for 24 suspects as part of an investigation into the so-called “public sector confidential structure” of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), prosecutors said Monday.

According to a statement from the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, the investigation was carried out by the anti-terrorism bureau and focused on operational phone lines allegedly used by members of the group within state institutions.

The authorities said coordinated efforts by the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and counterterrorism police identified suspects who allegedly used ByLock, an encrypted messaging application used by members of the terrorist group.

Investigators also cited sequential calls made through pay phones and prepaid lines, a communication method prosecutors say is linked to the group.

The prosecutor’s office said evidence of organizational activity was obtained against the suspects, seven of whom are still employed in various public institutions.

Police launched simultaneous operations across 11 provinces centered in Ankara to detain the suspects, officials announced.

Separately, authorities in Gaziantep announced the capture of a fugitive convict wanted on charges of FETÖ membership.

In a statement shared by the Gaziantep Provincial Police Department on X, counterterrorism teams said the suspect was detained during an operation conducted under the coordination of prosecutors.

The individual had been sentenced to six years and three months in prison on terrorism-related charges and transferred to prison, the statement said.

The terrorist group orchestrated the July 15, 2016, coup attempt, which killed 252 people and wounded 2,734 others. Ankara also accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.

Türkiye has targeted its active members and sleeper cells and its influence has been much reduced since 2016. However, the group maintains a vast network, including infiltrators suspected of still operating within Turkish institutions.

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