IV
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. CON. RES. 97
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
APRIL 4, 2001
Mr. ANDREWS (for himself, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mrs. MORELLA,
Ms. LEE, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. BLAGOJEVICH, Mrs. MALONEY of New
York, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. ACKERMAN, and Mr. KNOLLENBERG) sub-
mitted 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 Ae-
gean 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 is-
lands and islets and unspecified ‘‘gray areas’’ in the Ae-
gean 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
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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 fron-
tier between the two countries;
Whereas a protocol done at Ankara, Turkey, on December
28, 1932, and annexed to the 1932 Convention memorial-
ized an agreement on a water boundary between Italy
and Turkey, which placed the Imia islets under the sov-
ereignty 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 the United States is a signatory to the 1947 Paris
Treaty of Peace and all articles therein are a part of the
law of the United States;
Whereas because the United States is party to treaty regimes
that establish water boundaries, most notably the Con-
vention Ceding Alaska, done at Washington, District of
Columbia, on March 30, 1867, which established the
water boundary between Alaska and Russia, the United
States has an interest in maintaining and perpetuating
such regimes as a matter of international law;
Whereas by resolution dated February 15, 1996, the Euro-
pean Parliament resolved that the water boundaries es-
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tablished 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 Ae-
gean Sea;
Whereas Turkish Government claims on Aegean islands with-
in 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 Ae-
gean Sea is located, is a region of vital strategic impor-
tance 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 Conven-
tion 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
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(2) any party, including Turkey, objecting to
these established boundaries should seek redress in
the International Court of Justice at The Hague.
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