Burbok is finally coming to Athens – what can we expect?
What (can) Greece expect from Analena Burbok? This is what a Deutsche Welle report explores, as Athens awaits the German foreign minister next Friday. Analena Berbock’s trip to Greece (and then Turkey) has been pending since last June when she had planned to visit the head of German diplomacy in the two capitals, but her plans were canceled due to the coronavirus.
On July 29, Burbok will arrive in Athens for a meeting with her Greek counterpart Niko Dendia and immediately after that she will go to Turkey.
The DW publication is entitled “What Greece expects from Analena Burbok”, with the editorial questioning whether Germany can mediate between Greece and Turkey:
“German mediation for the de-escalation of tensions with Turkey would be welcome,” said George Pagoulatos, director of ELIAMEP, the most important Greek think tank, as the publication notes. However, the Greek government does not want an “equal distance policy” from Berlin towards Greece and Turkey. “As an EU partner, Greece expects active support from Germany, especially given the Erdogan regime’s revisionism and aggressive behavior towards a European democracy,” Mr Pagoulatos said.
Apparently there are doubts in Greece about Berlin’s sequence when it comes to the conflict with Turkey. Giorgos Katrougas, Minister of Foreign Affairs under SYRIZA in 2019, criticized in an interview with DW the fact that the language of the German government towards Turkey was much softer than that of the conference.
Nevertheless, Mr. Katrougalos is not thinking too much about mediation initiatives at the moment: “We believe that there are direct channels of communication between Athens and Ankara and that the EU should advance our common position towards Turkey,” he says.
Burbok has long been informed of the Greek concerns, the publication notes, even recalling that she initially wanted to meet Mr. Dendias in Athens in early June and then traveled to Ankara. The intellect from Covid-19 however changed her plans making it imperative to postpone the trip. However, in the intervening weeks, Greek-Turkish relations have not improved, quite the opposite.
At another point, it is mentioned that the political scientist Sotiris Servos, foreign policy adviser to Nikos Androulakis, the new president of the social democratic party PASOK, is even worried about a “hot” episode in the summer. The main cause for concern is the current lack of an open, reliable communication channel between Athens and Ankara, he tells DW.
The publication in conclusion points out that “in Athens, no one expects a spectacular mediation initiative from Analena Burbok. A few clear words from the German Foreign Minister to Ankara would be enough for now. It would, however, be even better for Athens if Berbock announces that Germany will stop the delivery of German submarines to Turkey. In Greece, one remembers very well that in January 2021, the Greens, then still in opposition, asked the then federal government to stop the delivery of German submarines to Turkey. Athens no longer has such great expectations from the Greens who now co-govern”…
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