UN General Assembly
1996

this resolution in direct violation of the United Nations Charter, which forbids the use of force or the threat of the use of force in international relations. Even worse, in contravention of the Treaty of Lausanne and the Treaty of Paris, Turkey laid claim at the beginning of this year to the Imia islets in the Aegean Sea, which are Greek sovereign territory, and even supported this claim by military means. This sets a very dangerous precedent for the entire region. Turkey is attempting to subvert the territorial status quo established more than 70 years ago and is backing its claims with the use of armed force. Furthermore, the Foreign Minister, Mrs. Ciller, in her capacity as Prime Minister, claimed in February that 1,000 Greek islands and islets in the Aegean are Turkish, and that if Greece attempted to contest this “fact”, Turkey would consider it a casus belli. A few days later she raised the number to 3,000. Greece has repeatedly called on Turkey to have recourse to the International Court of Justice concerning the