Greek-Turkish Relations

It is Greece’s duty to stand by Turkey in any way possible. At a time of disaster and the loss of so many thousands of lives, what unites us is far greater than what divides us.

Now, more than ever, an important element of successful diplomacy is how many friends and enemies you have in foreign countries, and all the more so in a superpower such as the US.

The West cannot abandon Turkey, and Greece does not want the West to abandon Turkey, even with a president like Erdogan – the dangerous revisionist that supposedly no one wants to talk to.

Obviously, Erdogan is largely motivated by an expansionist vision, yet he is receiving from abroad ever sterner signals that differences with Greece must be peacefully resolved.

Athens must prepare for the prospect of Ankara broadening its alliances and of Erdogan being re-elected to yet another five-year term, as even if he loses, Turkey’s policy toward Greece will not change radically.

Though Thrace's Muslim minority is comprised of ethnic Turks, Pomaks, and Roma, Ankara has long attempted and in large measure succeeded in the Turkification of the other two ethnic groups.

Ankara believes that the Turkish nation is suffocating within the borders of the state and that it now has the power and means to expand its sphere of influence.

'When we highlight Turkish expansionism in the Eastern Mediterranean we juxtapose it to a degree to what happened between Russia and Ukraine, 'the PM said.

'In response to the “Blue Homeland”, Greece could lay claim to all of Asia Minor and Constantinople. Is it possible in our day and age for leaders and peoples to think in this manner?'

Erdogan has not moved an inch in pursuing a wide array of claims and challenges to Greek sovereignty, and the PM must make tough calls on what more Athens may legitimately negotiate, without compromising sovereignty and national interests.

Athens must grab the opportunity to stand on the side of international law in all circumstances and build a momentum from which it can benefit, with a consensus that one country cannot violate the sovereignty of another.

In his presentation, Dendias offered comprehensive answers to Turkey’s claims with maps illustrating Ankara’s flouting of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean.

Greece is a peaceful Western country, but without being pliant and complaisant. Through deterrence and decisiveness it sends the analogous signals. Through constant diplomatic pressure, it reminds one that Greece’s borders are the EU’s borders.

Turkey is already a quasi-regional power, despite it great economic problems. It aims to become something more – perhaps a hegemonic power in the regional system and beyond, and naturally it provokes Greece’s righteous indignation.

Even if the Turkish foreign minister disputes the sovereignty of “militarised” Greek Aegean islands, and his Greek counterpart describes the Turkish government’s stance as the “epitome of irrationality, bilateral exploratory talks continue.

It remains to be seen what will be the policy of the new German government, after the departure of Angela Merkel and the appointment of the Green party’s Annalena Baerbock as the country’s foreign minister.

Let us not allow outbursts and irresponsibility to prevail in our public statements. Let us leave the oversight of our strategy to the government, as in the past we have paid dearly for the diplomacy of emotion.

Not only with Erdogan and the neo-Ottoman dogma that he follows, but also historically, Turkey in every domestic crisis has proven that that it shifts and shapes it into a dangerous, extroverted stratagem.

'We are decisive, persistent, and capable of protecting both our own rights and interests and those of the TRNC (the occupation regime in Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus) in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean,' Akar said.

The popularity of the once most popular Turkish politician is plummeting, and the economic problems of the “regional power” are constantly growing. Inflation and poverty are battering  his working class base of support.

Pompeo said he is enthusiastic about the recent US-Greece Mutual Defence Cooperation Agreement and that Turkey is undermining security in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Yayci is the originator of Ankara’s expansionist “Blue Motherland” theory, which claims large segments of Greece’s territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) for Turkey.

A large majority of respondents expressed approval for Greece’s recent defence agreements with France and the US, especially for the accord with France that included a mutual defence pact.

'The difficulties were a given when the issue was the stability of the euro, and I personally was absolutely cognisant of the excessive burden and challenge that this entailed for the people of Greece. We managed in the end to find a common path, a common pace, for Greece to remain a member of the EU.'

The PM declared that the chancellor has been a voice of logic and though sometimes measures imposed on Greece were unjust, she took decisive decisions at critical moments. He said that in 2015 she rejected Greece’s ostracism from the EU.