Turkey insists on demilitarization of islands and Athens condemns Turkish revisions to partners and allies
Turkey’s letter to the United Nations, in which it once again raises the issue of demilitarization of the Aegean islands, is the latest link in a series of Turkish distortions, which put Athens on alert.
Diplomatic sources replied in principle that Ankara is trying a thousand times to distort reality and all concepts of international law, with reservations on the Greek side to respond to non-existent Turkish objections when it deems appropriate, while, however, the diplomatic marathon continued.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to raise the issue of Turkish aggression with European partners again during the first meeting of the European Political Group on 6-7 October in Prague. The prime minister is also reported to have discussed Turkey with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the sidelines of the opening of the Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) gas pipeline on Saturday in Sofia.
Finally, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was invited to the summit, will be present in Prague, although he will have to respond to his behavior in Greece, Cyprus and France.
The Euromed meeting in Spain was postponed as the southern countries, on the initiative of France, condemned the Turkish aggression, as Pedro Sanchez was diagnosed with the Corona virus, but the Greek-French alliance still exists.
Athens also “bets” on interventions by US senators against Turkish aggression. Bob Menendez and Chris Van Hollen, in particular, introduced two amendments to the National Defense Appropriations Act (NDAA) requiring it to be a condition of the sale or upgrade of F16s that Turkey could not use to fly over the Greek islands. However, there is something that is difficult to implement in practice and it certainly does not preclude the continuation of violations by Turkey by other means.
And Ankara, of course, continues diplomacy in the United States. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan held a meeting with Turkey’s Senior Advisor to the Presidency, Ibrahim Kalin, with whom he discussed “the importance of dialogue and diplomacy to resolve any differences in the eastern Mediterranean”.
It should be noted that Turkey, continuing its provocations against Greece, changed its position on the issue of Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership, while rejecting the annexation of Ukrainian lands by Russia.
The Greek side always claims to be open to dialogue with Turkey, but within the framework of international law and the only difference it recognizes with its neighbor (the oceanic platform/exclusive economic zone).
However, the fact that the escalation in Greek-Turkish relations has been going on for three years worries Athens, which is experiencing an orchestrated attack by Ankara on Greece. At the State Department, they believe the ongoing tension is no longer explained by Erdogan’s pre-election goals and are worried about Ankara’s next steps.
