Berlin’s shift to Greek-Turkish?

Commented by Dr. Ronald Maynard

Experts agree on one point: There has never been such mobility of top politicians from Germany to Greece in such a short time. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Chancellor and the Minister of Finance – in this order – are expected to pay official visits to Greece. The three political leaders represent Germany’s top ministries. At the same time, they represent the three parties that make up the governing coalition of the so-called traffic light, the Greens, the Social Democrats and the Liberals.

German “thank you” for exchanging tanks

The timing of the high-level visits was not scheduled. These days the calendars of political leaders are full. To save time the visits were merged. Foreign Minister Berbok arrives in Athens from Pakistan on Wednesday (June 8th) and will travel to Turkey the next day. Chancellor Soltz’s visit to Thessaloniki on Friday (10.06) is part of his wider tour of the Balkans. For the Greek Prime Minister, Soltz’s visit is a diplomatic success. Perhaps this is an expression of gratitude of the German Chancellor to Mr. Mitsotakis for the cooperation in the exchange of tanks for Ukraine. In Germany, Olaf Solz is criticized for his stance on heavy weapons deliveries to Ukraine. The recent agreement with Mr. Mitsotakis takes the criticism away from the chancellor. High-ranking visitors from Berlin come to Greece at a time when Greek foreign policy is dominated – once again – by escalating tensions with Turkey.

Not a day goes by without new challenges, either in the form of verbal, often offensive attacks, or even violations of Greek airspace over the Aegean islands. Qualitatively and quantitatively, the attacks have taken on a new dimension. Once again, the main goal of Greek diplomacy is to mobilize the support of friends and allies against Turkish actions. There is a widespread impression in Greek public opinion that Germany’s support for Athens’s positions in the Greek-Turkish conflict is insufficient. In fact, many Greeks believe that Ankara is a more important partner for Berlin than Athens.

What will happen to the deliveries of modern submarines in Turkey?

In fact, for a long time there was no official German reaction to the questioning of Greek sovereignty in the Aegean. Finally, about a week ago, the government spokesman broke his silence and expressed something that is essentially self-evident: He said that “infiltration into Greek airspace and overflights over Greek islands is not okay and that it is counterproductive and contrary to the spirit of the alliance to close the door to dialogue. ” The Greek media rushed to talk about a change in German policy. When it comes to rhetoric, this may be true. But this is more than just words. It is possible that Ms Burbok and Mr Soltz – and possibly Mr Lindner – will repeat the words of the government spokesman during their visits. They may also refer to the EU’s February wording that Greece’s sovereignty over the Eastern Aegean islands is unquestionable. The solidarity of the allies is important and given.

The central question, however, is whether the guests from Germany will take a step towards the Greeks and in essence. It is no secret that the Greek government opposes the delivery of modern German submarines to Turkey. Just as Mitsotakis campaigned in Washington against the supply of modern aircraft to Ankara, he will now ask Berlin to terminate the agreement on German submarines. In their election manifesto, the Greens had opposed the supply of weapons to Turkey. This was before the war in Ukraine. New rules apply now. The next few days will show whether Germany insists on its old policy or whether it wants to regain the lost trust of many Greeks with new approaches.

* Dr. Ronald Maynardus is a political analyst, commentator and lead researcher at ELIAMEP. In the mid-1990s he was director of the Greek Editorial Board of Deutsche Welle.

Source: Deutsche Welle