Athens … tightens the diplomatic cordon in Ankara – The next milestones

By Dimitris Gatsios

Piece by piece and in the … shadow of the challenges of the Turkish leadership due to work and action, Athens is structuring the puzzle of the next cycle of its diplomatic counterattack on all international fronts. The projection of the neighbor’s restraint, starting with the Prime Minister’s visit to Washington and ending with the extraordinary summit of the “27” of the European Union, produces tangible results.

Ankara is facing a slap in the face, either from Europe or the United States, as the Greek side proposes international law, defending sovereignty and sovereignty, strengthening its alliances and upgrading it. its geostrategic, energy and geopolitical role in the wider region. And in this context, from today until the end of June, a period begins with critical milestones in terms of Greek-Turkish. Like the regular European Council and the NATO Summit in Madrid.

Athens, relying on its deterrent capability and its alliances, will respond to any aggressive behavior of its neighbor. Open to dialogue, based solely on international law and with resounding responses, whenever President Recep Tayyip Erdogan or a senior Turkish official wishes to drag down the dance of provocation and delinquency.

“Greece will not tolerate aggressive behavior, revisionist rhetoric and actions that amount to violations of Greek sovereign rights and Greek sovereignty. It is up to Turkey to change its behavior. We were never the ones who exceeded the limits, we showed aggression. “We are absolutely confident, however, that we have the ability to defend our country if such a need arises. And we are also confident that we have allies who support us: the European Union, the United States,” Mitsotakis told Reuters. .

“I do not see why Turkey should complain every time we say we are right, when we argue that our differences must be resolved in accordance with international law and that we can not accept irrational claims of sovereignty over the Greek “Turkey should not be surprised when our allies, and in NATO, state the obvious: that we are right and that there is no other way to look at the issue than what we are saying.”

The head of the Greek diplomacy, Nikos Dendias, speaking at the annual Conference of the Association of Businesses and Industries of Peloponnese and Western Greece, presented the wide range of illegal Turkish arguments that our country has to face. Arguments, which Athens deconstructs point by point, based, as it always does, on the rules of international law.

“I sincerely hope that Turkey sees clearly that this policy is deadlocked, returns to the path of convergence towards the European Union, European and world values ​​and understands that Greece can be a bridge to Europe, a bridge to a a better future, which I firmly believe that a very important part of the Turkish people and Turkish society hopes for, that is, whenever given the opportunity to speak freely and to stop the attempt to trap Turkish society and consequently Greece in the future. “, write down. “In claims and rivalries belonging to past centuries and past eras, make it clear to Turkey that the policy of the gunners, the policy of the majestic Suleiman in the Mediterranean, belongs entirely to another era, either of Suleiman in the 16th century or of “Gunners in the 19th and early 20th. However, by no means in the 21st century,” said the Foreign Minister.

The next milestones

Greek diplomacy, deconstructing every point of Turkish revisionism, is turning its attention to the next milestones, which open on the June horizon. Particularly:

-On Thursday, the German Foreign Minister, Analena Berbok, will be in the Greek capital, during a visit that comes in the aftermath of the Mitsotakis-Solz fours in Brussels, in which the Prime Minister informed the Chancellor about the escalating and escalating Turkish Ankara rhetoric, which undermines stability in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean.

– On Friday, the presence of the German Chancellor and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, in Thessaloniki, will follow, in the framework of the Summit of the South East European Cooperation Process. This will be another opportunity for our country to send a message against Turkish revisionism at the highest level.

– The regular European Council is scheduled for June 23 and 24, during which Athens, if Turkey insists on the challenges, will raise the relevant issue, aiming to have a clear reference to condemnation in the conclusions of the Summit.

-The NATO Summit in Madrid is scheduled for June 28, 29 and 30.

“Our country’s foreign policy is a policy of consistency, stability and principles. It is a policy of respect for international law, without ambivalence and gossip. At the same time, we are adamant on issues of our national sovereignty and our sovereign rights. “Reliability, the stability of our positions, but also our ability to defend our national interests have made Greece a factor of stability and peace in the wider region,” the Greek capital points out.