Turkey has severed official dialogue with Greece and is questioning Greek sovereignty over many Aegean islands, writes ‘s Athens journalist Sara Saure.
ATHENS The NATO partnership has never prevented Turkey from seeking conflicts with its neighbor Greece.
There is a permanent threat of war declared by Turkey if Greece extends its territorial waters in the Aegean from six nautical miles to twelve. Greece would be fully entitled to that.
Greece sees Turkey’s actions as a threat not only for itself but also for the stability of the whole of the south-eastern Mediterranean.
President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğanille the threat in Greece seems rather to be that of the United States has added (you are switching to another service) its presence at Greek military bases in the framework of the bilateral defense cooperation agreement between the two countries.
Greece accuses Turkey of a flagrant violation of its sovereignty.
There is now talk of overflights of fighter jets over inhabited islands in the Aegean Sea. The fighters have also flown less than five kilometers from a NATO base in Alexandroupoli.
Alexanroupoli is also rubbing Turkey because its energy role is growing in the region with the floating liquefied petroleum gas terminal to be completed next year.
Very worrying for Greece is that Turkey is questioning the sovereignty of Greece over the large inhabited islands of the eastern Aegean as long as the islands remain militarized. The issue is not new, now only Turkey is raising it more and more aggressively.
Turkey justifies its position on the grounds that: Greece has militarized the islands (moving to another service), including Lesbos, Chios and Samos, contrary to the terms of the Lausanne and Paris Peace Accords. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu warns that Turkey does not intend to leave its neighbor alone if Greece does not stop violating international agreements.
Greece responds to Turkey’s completely arbitrary interpretation of the 1923 Lausanne Treaty and refers to the UN Charter and the Convention on the Law of the Sea. They give Greece the right to defend itself and the islands the right to a continental shelf and an exclusive economic zone.
As an EU external border state Greece is also under pressure from counter-services.
In March 2020, Erdoğan sent thousands of migrants to Greece and used them as pawns to win concessions from the EU and NATO.
The Greek government says it is ready if the neighbor flashes the migration card again.
Even the rhetorical defiance of Turkey is parked.
Erdoğan, for example, has spoken of the mistake Turkey made in admitting Greece to NATO. There is no room for new mistakes, the President of Turkey has said in connection with Finland’s NATO membership.
In addition, Erdoğan’s close circle has commented on “EU abandoned children” like Greece, who cannot join NATO.
In Turkey’s view, both countries are also countries that protect terrorists.
– Turkey considers terrorists everyone who doesn’t like it, the Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias clarify by sharpening.
Right now on Erdoğan’s “target” is Prime Minister Mitsotákis, who believes the Turkish president tried to block Ankara’s fighter dealings during a visit to the United States.
– I never want to meet again from Mitsoták, Erdoğan has already downloaded twice in a short time.
Prime Minister Mitsotákis is not taking a stand on the pursuit of a foreign policy that goes to the personal level, but assures that Greece is not going to be the party to stop negotiating with its neighbors.
What thoughts did the story provoke? You can discuss the topic on 8.6. until 11 p.m.