Χάνουμε το Αιγαίο (review)

Reviews 183 spent hours transcribing not only die text but also die pauses, audience reactions , time lapses and, in general, more or less everything that has to do with the performance. Although I understand that a parallel edition of the Greek text would have caused publication difficulties, it would have been extremely useful both for native speakers and for students of the Greek language. Anna Stavrakopoulou Harvard University Lambros N. Papantoniou. Λάμπϕος N. Παπαντωνίου, Χάνουμε το Αιγαίο. Washington, D.C. and Athens: by the author (P.O. Box 2391, Washington , D.C. 20013, phone 202 388-0355). 1992. Pp. 395 + appendix with maps. $30.00. Lambros Papantoniou is a Washington-based Greek journalist who has devoted nearly two decades to investigating Greco-Turkish relations and the relations between Greece and the United States. This long-awaited book examines the negotiations between Greece and Turkey over the Aegean continental shelf, Greek territorial waters, and Aegean airspace. Greece's reintegration into NATO, the question of minorities, and Cyprus are also discussed. The book covers the period 1976—1981; it contains nearly 68 original, unpublished documents from the files of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs . There is an undated draft treaty of friendship between Greece and Turkey, the controversial 1976 "Berne Protocol," analyses of the progress of the negotiations dispatched to Greek embassies abroad from Auiens, and other related documents of lesser importance. Each document is introduced by a brief summary identifying its main points. At the end of the book the author provides his own analysis of the significance of these documents. The book's tide, "We Are Losing the Aegean," reflects his concern over Greek compromises favoring Turkey during the 1976—1981 period as well as further compromises that may be contemplated by the current Greek government. The book contains only a selected group of documents; thus it does not claim to be a complete record of the negotiations during this period. One difficulty confronting even the informed reader, consequently, is the absence of some of the documents to which reference is made in the materials that are included in this volume. The most significant documents contained in this volume are the minutes of the meetings of the Secretaries-General of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Greece and Turkey, who regularly conducted the political negotiations between their two countries. It should be noted that almost until the end of the 1976—1981 negotiating cycle the Greek side was represented by Byron Theodoropoulos, a career ambassador and Turkish expert, while the 184 Reviews Turkish side was represented by some of the top figures in their diplomatic service such as ambassadors Elekdag, Turkmen, Yigit, and Gürün. Even in the absence of supporting documentation, these minutes provide an invaluable record for anyone interested in Greco-Turkish relations. They prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Greece, from 1976 to 1981, pursued serious and substantive negotiations with Turkey over the delimitation of the Aegean continental shelf, the territorial waters, and the Aegean airspace. These documents reveal that the negotiations were inconclusive not because of the lack of flexibility and compromise on the part of Greece, but because of Turkey's determination to limit Greece's presence in the Aegean and to establish a Turkish condominium over the Aegean. The documents are not subjective interpretations of the talks by the Greek side. The minutes summarize the positions of the two sides, and contain appropriate clarification and elaboration by the Turkish side where necessary. Much as it did during the negotiations over Cyprus, Turkey maintained consistent positions regarding these issues, positions that had significant legal implications for the resolution of the issues in dispute. Furthermore, Turkey introduced additional demands each time the two sides appeared to have been close to an agreement, as in the case of the Aegean airspace. Thus, these minutes constitute a primer on how Turkey negotiates. Owing to the secrecy surrounding these talks, some of the information contained in the documents had surfaced previously only in the form of rumors and leaks in the Greek and foreign press. A few informed accounts— for example, Andrew Wilson's TL· Aegean FHspute (Adelphi Papers No. 155, London: IISS, 1979)—included more reliable details but no actual documentation...