Turkey’s lions at EU Summits and NATO

By Dimitris Gatsios

Rhetorical outbursts. Due to and work threats. Unbridled in the statements not only of the President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. But also top officials of the neighbor. Weeks of debauchery, which began with the results of the Prime Minister’s visit to the United States of America. The upgraded role of Athens in geopolitical and energy level. The … squeaks inside Turkey, which is experiencing conditions of economic suffocation. One way or another, on this time bridge from Mr. Mitsotakis’s return from Washington to the present day, Ankara’s attacks have brought with them an end to illusions about reducing neighbors’ aggression and a summer, which could roll over. Turkey is once again tied to the chariot of delinquency, its leadership threatens … gods and demons, cutting off every positive imprint that the Mitsotaki-Erdogan summit had in Istanbul and no longer has to deal only with those based on international law , answers of the Greek capital. It does not have to face only the marathon of internationalization of its challenges, with the last stop being the extraordinary Summit of the “27” of the European Union. He now has to deal with the resounding slaps of allies and partners, which are rampant and … shout “so far” in the steps of escalation.

Layered “hits”

“The last thing we need today is another source of instability on NATO’s southeast. I’m sure some in Russia would be very happy if that happened. But we will make sure that we do not allow that. We will also send a clear message. That ‘s why we’re not going to compromise when it comes to our sovereignty and our sovereign rights. “We are a force for peace. We are a defense force, but we want to send a very clear message that any sense of threat to our sovereignty will be severely punished.”

With this disgust, from the podium of the congress of the European People’s Party, Mr. Mitsotakis gave clear answers to the new waves of Ankara’s leontarizations. Government officials, with whom “K” spoke, point out that Athens is watching the developments “calmly and with determination”, the country is preparing for all possibilities, although the assessment of factors is that the leadership of the neighboring country will not attempt another hot summer in the field, corresponding to that of 2020, but will continue in the tactics of aggressive rhetoric. “We are deconstructing this rhetoric of the Turkish leadership point by point, always based on international law. What should be noted, however, is that, even in the scenario of a new attempt to instrumentalize immigration by Ankara, we are much better prepared “, is the message that is being sent.

New dual message

In this backdrop of Ankara’s outbursts, in this backdrop of all kinds of threats from Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Mr. Mitsotakis, for the last twenty-four hours, has chosen to send new signals to Turkey. On the one hand, with his visit to Kos and Pserimos. On the other hand, with his remarks about the refugee. “With your help, guarding our borders, many thanks to our Coast Guard for doing a great job in very difficult conditions, with the support of Europe, speeding up asylum procedures, creating new structures, ensuring a low VAT rate for the five islands, which have structures today, we sent a message that Greece is able, with full respect for human rights, to effectively guard its land and sea borders, and this is a very serious mission that we have undertaken, not only “on behalf of our country but also on behalf of the European Union”, he noted.

Following the level of assessments, however, Athens considers that the challenges of President Erdogan and senior Turkish officials do not help even on the domestic front, as as Ankara escalates its rhetoric, so … it sees the Turkish pound fall to a period of intense pressure on the neighbor’s economy and with inflation taking place … rally. It is characteristic, for example, that consumer prices in Turkey are pressing for a new … gas, as they increased by 73.5% in May, compared to the corresponding month last year, according to official data published on Friday. The rise in consumer prices, however, slowed in May, compared with the rise in April, when inflation jumped from 61% to 70%. Inflation accelerated for the 12th consecutive month, reaching its highest point since October 1998. At the same time, producer prices increased by 8.76% on a monthly basis, while annual producer prices increased by 132.16%.

The next milestones

The international community is now openly targeting out-of-bounds rhetoric against Athens, sending multiple messages to Ankara and condemning actions that call into question the sovereignty of the Aegean islands. After the loud statement of support for the Greek positions by President Macron, after the … six months of Berlin on the line of equal distances, the State Department and the European Commission gave two more slaps in the face of Turkey, while the Greek side remains that the strategy of internationalizing the challenges will continue in all fora and important milestones are opening up on the horizon:

– The regular European Council on 23 and 24 June, with Athens preparing to raise the issue of Turkish delinquency, aiming to have a clear reference to the conclusions of the Summit.

-The NATO Summit in Madrid, on June 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,” Athens said.