Editorial Ta Nea: Utmost caution

For months it has been clear that sooner or later Ankara would proceed with actions aiming to ensure that it has a place on the energy map of the southern Aegean.

That objective was self-evident for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that the Turkish economy is in dire straits and is in danger of collapsing.

The other crucial reason is Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ambition of establishing Turkey as a regional power.

These and other reasons lead one to the conclusion that there will be no summer respite this year. The activity of the Turkish marine seismographic survey ship BARBAROS in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Republic of Cyprus demonstrates that Ankara will yet again use provocations to achieve its goals.

Moreover, the “battle of the [S-400 Russian] missiles” in the Ankara-Moscow-Washinton triangle and Israel’s involvement in that must be factored into the equation.

In that difficult framework, Athens is obliged to exercise the utmost caution. Vigilance is not merely an option. It is an absolute necessity.

The Aegean is not simply a tourist paradise for summer visitors. In the eyes of people like Mr. Erdogan who seek to transcend their economic and political problems, it is viewed as an Eldorado – an Eldorado not with the scent of a summer suncsreen but rather of precious hydrorbons.