Plan B if Turkey talks are a non-starter

Friday's upcoming meeting, in Athens, of Greek and Turkish foreign ministers George Gerapetritis and Hakan Fidan, will be important in determining whether the two countries could seek international arbitration for their bilateral disputes.

The different approach taken by the two sides is well-documented. Greece says only two issues can be taken before either the International Court of Justice, in The Hague, or the Hamburg-based International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea: the delimitation of the two countries' exclusive economic zones and a decision about their respective continental shelves, since Turkey disputes that Greece's many islands have continental shelves on their own.

On the other hand, Turkey's stated position is that it will not agree to international arbitration if it does not include all issues it considers to be disputed, from national waters and air...