Erdogan energizes climate with crescendo of provocative statements – How Athens responds

By Dimitris Gatsios

Athens is facing the new crescendo of provocative statements by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with calm and determination. In an… marathon of inflammatory rhetoric, which began with the end of the Greek Prime Minister’s visit to the United States and the results it has produced at the geopolitical, national and energy level, Mr.… demolishes any positive atmosphere created in the meeting of the two leaders in Istanbul. Athens continues to promote the concept of respect for international law and good neighborly rules, always informs the international fora about the new waves of crime of the neighbor and decodes the… setback in the relations between the two capitals, which, in essence, refers to time What remains to be answered, behind the κ amok of statements by Erdogan and top Ankara officials, is whether Turkey will attempt to ρ torpedo, with new provocative moves, next summer, further exporting the nervousness and the impasse it has reached, based on what Greek foreign policy has achieved over the last three years.

Stabilizing the climate in the relations between Athens and Ankara for a few twenty-four hours now, President Erdo .an is clear that with his statement “for me Mitsotakis no longer exists”, he is cutting off any bridge of communication with the Greek capital. Turkey’s leadership and its neighbor’s Armed Forces are once again pulling the strings of provocation, ostensibly ignoring not only the rules of international law, but also the need to maintain unity within NATO, especially at this time. challenges due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The mere fact that these new waves of delinquency come at a time when Athens is counting on the positive results of the Prime Minister’s visit to the United States, reflects the difficult position that President Erdogan has reached inside the country, in front of upgraded role of our country in geopolitical and energy level. As for the overflights almost over Alexandroupolis, they should be attributed to Ankara’s nervousness towards the new and extremely important role of the city for NATO and the energy field. It is no coincidence, for example, that Mr. Mitsotakis included the importance of Alexandroupolis both in his speech before President Biden and in his speech to Congress.

The decisive answer of Athens

In addition to the above, the… mosaic that structures the reasons for President Erdogan’s outburst beyond any diplomatic threshold is related to both the upgrade of the Greek-US defense cooperation (through the F-35 fighter jets) and the detailed briefing. of the Prime Minister at the top level of Washington on national issues. Mr. Mitsotakis showed President Biden, an excellent connoisseur of our region, the map of the “blue homeland”. He did the same in the meeting with Nancy Pelosi, in the meeting with American senators. “There was a lot of interest from the members of the Foreign Affairs Committee in meeting with Mr Mitsotakis. Usually, out of the 20 members of the Committee, five to six are in attendance. Today there were many more from both parties,” said Senator Menendez. in a conversation he had with Greek journalists, showing the interest that exists in Congress on the relevant issue. A Congressman holding the green or red light in his Turkish F-16 in his. Hand.

“Our country with calmness, determination, sobriety, in all fields, and in the diplomatic, but also on the field, is here to defend International Law, our sovereignty, our borders. It is here to “It defends the values ​​of Western culture and this policy is being met everywhere,” government officials said. Mr. Economou’s response to Erdogan’s statements came with a decisive style. “The Prime Minister vigorously and effectively defends both our national law and international legitimacy. Greek foreign policy is strongly based on history, international law and our alliances, no matter how much it bothers some. We will not confront statements with “Our leadership is a policy of principles,” Oikonomou said.

Read also: