Arlen Specter: “for thousands of years, the Aegean Sea, and the Eastern Mediterranean as a whole, has been a critical geopolitical…”

“for thousands of years, the Aegean Sea, and the Eastern Mediterranean as a whole, has been a critical geopolitical region. I believe it is in the national interest of the United States to have the countries in this region resolve their disputes peacefully. As former Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrook recently noted, ``you cannot have the southern flank of NATO in constant tension without having strategic instability, which will ultimately wreck NATO.'' Unfortunately, Greece and Turkey--both members of NATO, and both allies of the United States--have been locked in bitter conflict for many hundreds of years. The case of Cyprus is a tragic recent example. I am concerned that in such a climate of hostility, relatively minor disputes could erupt into major conflict. It could be a war which would spread to that area. The most recent manifestation of tension between Greece and Turkey centers on Imia and other islets in the Aegean. The sovereignty questions are quite complex, and involve treaties and other agreements signed after World War I and World War II, including the Paris Peace Treaty of 1947, the Italo-Turkish Agreement of 1932, and the 1923 Lausanne Peace Treaty. Simply put, each nation claims the islet of Imia, called Kardak by Turkey, as part of its national territory. However, I believe that this dispute should be resolved in the International Court of Justice [ICJ] at The Hague.”