[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 340 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 340

   Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding Turkey's claims of 
         sovereignty over islands and islets in the Aegean Sea.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 25, 2000

Mr. Andrews (for himself, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. Klink, Mrs. Maloney of New 
   York, Mr. Payne, Mr. Blagojevich, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Sherman, Mr. 
 Crowley, Mr. Filner, Mr. Knollenberg, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. McNulty, 
    Mr. Coyne, and Mr. Ackerman) submitted the following concurrent 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
   Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding Turkey's claims of 
         sovereignty over islands and islets in the Aegean Sea.

Whereas the maritime borders between Greece and Turkey in the Aegean Sea have 
        been delimited in international law as having been agreed, established, 
        and settled;
Whereas Turkey is claiming sovereignty over numerous islands and islets and 
        unspecified ``gray areas'' in the Aegean Sea;
Whereas in article 15 of the Treaty of Peace with Turkey and Other Instruments, 
        done at Lausanne, Switzerland, on July 24, 1923, Turkey renounced, in 
        favor of Italy, all right, title, and interest in the 12 enumerated 
        islands in the Dodecanese region that were occupied by Italy at the time 
        of the Treaty, including the island of Calimnos and the islets dependent 
        on such islands;
Whereas the Convention Between Italy and Turkey for the Delimitation of the 
        Territorial Waters Between the Coasts of Anatolia and the Island of 
        Castellorizo, done at Ankara, Turkey, on January 4, 1932, established 
        the rights of Italy and Turkey in coastal islands, waters, and rocks in 
        the Aegean Sea and delimited a maritime frontier between the two 
        countries;
Whereas a protocol done at Ankara, Turkey, on December 28, 1932, and annexed to 
        1932 Convention memorialized an agreement on a water boundary between 
        Italy and Turkey, which placed the Imia islets under the sovereignty of 
        Italy;
Whereas in article 14 of the 1947 Paris Treaty of Peace with Italy, Italy ceded 
        to Greece the Dodecanese islands under Italy's control, including the 
        island of Calimnos and the adjacent islets of Imia;
Whereas by resolution dated February 15, 1996, the European Parliament resolved 
        that the water boundaries established in the 1923 Lausanne Treaty of 
        Peace and the 1932 Convention and Protocol Between Italy and Turkey are 
        the borders between Greece and Turkey in the Aegean Sea;
Whereas Turkish Government claims on Aegean islands within Greek sovereign 
        territory contravene these treaties, convention, and protocol;
Whereas a fundamental principle of international law is that, once agreed, a 
        boundary remains stable and predictable;
Whereas the eastern Mediterranean region, in which the Aegean Sea is located, is 
        a region of vital strategic importance to the United States;
Whereas both Greece and Turkey are members of the North Atlantic Treaty 
        Organization and allies of the United States; and
Whereas it is in the interest of the United States and other nations to resolve 
        disputes peacefully: Now, therefore, be it--
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) the water boundaries established in the 1923 Lausanne 
        Treaty of Peace, the 1932 Convention and Protocol Between Italy 
        and Turkey, and the 1947 Paris Treaty of Peace, under which the 
        Dodecanese islands and adjacent islets were ceded by Italy to 
        Greece, are the borders between Greece and Turkey in the Aegean 
        Sea; and
            (2) any party, including Turkey, objecting to these 
        established boundaries should seek redress in the International 
        Court of Justice at The Hague.
                                 <all>