Ankara pulls the strings: How does Athens respond?
By Katerina Kokkaliari
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A scene of tension is being set by the Turkish side, which is unfolding its revisionist agenda despite the fact that it does not find receptive ears in the international community. Ankara insists on the same dead-end road and continues to issue threats to the Greek islands and circulate fake news, attempting to set up a false narrative of a “Blue Homeland”.
“We will not shy away from using all kinds of legal methods and means for the rights and interests of our nation” features are listed in a statement after the long meeting of the Security Council of Turkey. The response from the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs was resounding, which typically emphasizes that our country will defend the legitimate interests and rights of the concession of necessity”.
With the Turkish president insisting in yesterday’s interviews on the well-known rhetoric about the demilitarization of the islands and saying with regard to the US that “they are not treating the NATO country fairly”. In fact, he continued in a similar style, saying that “our expectation from the US was not to lead Greece into wrong calculations”.
It is obvious that the Recep Tayyip Erdogan he is in a particularly difficult position, as on the one hand he has to face the drop in poll numbers and on the other hand a flurry of statements from the US and Europe. Their support for Greece against the threats it receives from Turkey will be expressed tomorrow by the heads of state and government of the nine countries of southern Europe, who will meet in Alicante, Spain. This was highlighted yesterday from Paris diplomatic sources of the presidency of the French Republic.
It should be noted that the State Department – with double intervention in the last few days– has underlined that Greece’s sovereignty over the Aegean islands is non-negotiable. At the same time, the representative of the Commission, responsible for foreign affairs, Peter Stano, emphasized that the EU invites Turkey “to respect the sovereignty of EU member states and commit to resolving all open issues in the spirit of good neighborliness with full respect for international law.”
In this ominous for the same scenario, Recep Tayyip Erdogan is eagerly looking for ways to change the climate both inside his country and abroad. Initially, when the war broke out in Ukraine, the Turkish president had estimated that he could take advantage of the fluid geopolitical scene to unfold his revisionist plans. However, despite the fact that his hopes turned out to be false, he persists in the same dead-end strategy, without hiding his irritation at the “closed doors” that his neo-Ottoman rhetoric finds.
How far the Turkish president will go remains to be seen, as one reading says that the aim of these moves is to eventually gain access to new weapons (and F 16s in particular). However, it is now possible for him to seek even a “hot” episode on the way to the polls.
How is Athens doing?
The “red lines” have been set by Athens, which calmly responds to Ankara’s challenges and proceeds to internationalize the issue. The Armed Forces remain on increased vigilance and readiness as it is unknown how the Turkish side will move in the next period.
Speaking to the cabinet, the prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis characteristically noted that “we we remain calm and confident in our clear positions with the force of International Law, the vigilance of our Armed Forces, the support of our allies”. Referring to Turkey’s stance, he emphasized that “instead of fiery words, they should finally choose creative actions and the path of meaningful dialogue. Against them, after all, they don’t only have Greece, they have the whole of Europe, but also our allies in NATO”.
The campaign to internationalize the Turkish provocation is ongoing and the issue should be placed both at the informal meeting of the leaders of the 27 in Prague on the 6th and 7th of the month and at the summit that will take place on the 20th and 21st of the month. “We are neither afraid, nor panicked, nor terrified. Nevertheless, one cannot ignore the fact that for a very long time there has been a frenzy in terms of rhetoric, threats, distortions of reality at all levels from the Turkish side” the government representative noted yesterday Giannis Oikonomou.