Ankara is moving towards a sharp escalation of Greek-Turkish relations, as was evident from yesterday's position of the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, declaring categorically for the Greek Prime Minister that “for me, Mitsotakis no longer exists”. The extreme disgust of the Turkish President after yesterday's meeting of his cabinet, with which he tried to cut the communication bridges with Athens, marks the change of course on the part of the neighboring country, which is also trying to establish its bilateral relations with Athens at the long table of its international claims.
Dynamizing the climate, Mr. Erdogan stated that “for me Mitsotakis no longer exists” referring to a personal tone to the Greek Prime Minister, but at the same time he closed the diplomatic channels between the two countries, announcing his intention to abstain from the Supreme Greece-Turkey Cooperation Council, which was reheated after its last meeting with the Greek Prime Minister last March, in Istanbul.
On the contrary, in his attempt to “demonize” the Greek Prime Minister, Mr. Erdogan betrayed his “root of evil”, which is none other than the account of Mr. Mitsotakis's recent trip to the United States, with the background of his speech and together exercising influence over Congress. “The US will decide for itself on the sale of F-16s to Turkey, they will not consult the Greek prime minister,” the Turkish president said, acknowledging that Greek positions are now particularly burdensome regarding the outcome of the US-Turkey bilateral agenda./p>
Unfolding, in fact, the whole “tangle” of his annoyance towards the strategic cooperation between Greece and the USA, Mr. Erdogan commented that “at the moment there are almost ten bases in Greece. And with these bases, who is Greece threatening? And why are these bases being set up in Greece “. In the same direction, “at the moment Greece owes 400 billion euros to Europe. We talked to them and agreed not to put third parties between us. But, par & # 8217; “All this, Mitsotakis spoke to the Senate and said not to give the F-16s to Turkey,” the Turkish President said, adding that “this year we would hold the Strategic Cooperation Council. There is no Mitsotakis for me anymore. “
“I no longer accept to have such a meeting with him, because we are going with honest politicians, who keep their promise. Let Mitsotakis think about the further. Let him meet with whomever he wants and make bases with whomever he wants. And I do not believe that America will decide according to what Mitsotakis said “, he concluded, without hiding his strong dissatisfaction with the developments.
Fire and fury for the maps strong>
The “Blue Homeland”, after all, made the Turkish President “explode” yesterday, as during his bilateral meeting with the US President, Joe Biden in the White House, the Greek Prime Minister showed him the map of the “Blue Homeland”. which fully reflects the revisionist logic of Turkey in the wider Eastern Mediterranean region. As “THEMA” showed, “see the picture to understand why we are talking about the revisionism, the questioning of sovereignty and the active threat, which is taking shape with the daily violations of Greek airspace by Turkish planes which are doing “Dangerous overflights over inhabited Greek islands” was the outline of what the Greek Prime Minister said to the American president, while the two of them were in the Oval Office of the White House, quoting with evidence the provocative behavior of Turkey.
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To the embarrassment caused in Ankara by the content of Mr. Mitsotakis's trip to Washington is added the impressive reception of the Greek Prime Minister's speech from the floor of the Congress, as it was placed in front of both US legislatures (House of Representatives and Senate which was present cross-party), in order not to lift the embargo on the upgrade of Turkish F-16s, but also on the acquisition of 5th generation aircraft, type F-35. The laudatory comments of many Senators, but also the saying “We are with you” by the Speaker of the House of Representatives (and of American origin), Nancy Pelozi, when Mr. Mitsotakis presented her the maps with the provocative Turkish claims, from Turkey's attempt to infiltrate – and with expensive lobbying companies – into Congress.
At the same time, the upgrade of the port of Alexandroupolis, in the context of the Greece-US defense agreement, is added to Ankara's sense that it is losing ground in the US, as the Turkish President mentioned the “bases” yesterday, while in the recent past (November). of 2021) had publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with the enhanced Greek-American cooperation in the city of Thrace.
Following the same logic, that of “demonization”, the Turkish President tried to “construct” culprits yesterday and regarding his country's expensive armaments program, stating that “our bad neighbor made us the owner of a defense industry” for Greece and Cyprus . At the same pace, he added that “we have not forgotten the unjust sanctions imposed on our country due to the peace operation (s.s. meaning” Attila “) in Cyprus”, although such a thing is not historically correct.
< p>In his accusations against Greece, Recep Tayyip Erdogan also listed the “Gulenists”, saying that “starting with our neighbors, many European countries have protected the FETO rebels”, while he stressed that “we have implemented many projects that will do the our navy stronger and more deterrent for the security of the Blue Homeland “. The occasion for the new, double attack on Athens and Nicosia was the launching ceremony of the Hızırreis submarine at the Golcuk shipyard in Istanbul, which, according to the Turkish President, can remain under water for three days and at sea for 12 weeks. without refueling.
According to what Recep Tayyip Erdogan said about his country's submarine development program, the Hızırreis will be put into operation in 2023, while the Selmanreis submarine will be put into operation in 2027. Specifically, from this year it will enter the service of the navy and a submarine and that by 2027 the Turkish navy will have six new types of submarines. It should be noted that the German submarines supplied by Ankara are of the same type as the ones that Greece has, such as the “Papanikolis”, except that their electronic systems will be built by the Turks.
” Policy of Authorities “from Athens
At the same time, calmly watching the “accusation” of the Turkish President, Athens insists on the “policy of principles”, without even being tempted by verbal controversies. Although he reacted immediately, we will not contradict statements with the Turkish leadership, clarified the Greek side, the Deputy Minister despite the Prime Minister and government spokesman, Giannis Oikonomou, despite the high tones.
Analytically, Statement by Mr. Economos:
“Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis strongly 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 the Turkish leadership. “Our policy is a policy of principles.” p> The announcement of SYRIZA:
“The statements of the Turkish President to stop the dialogue with the Prime Minister of Greece are completely unacceptable and condemnable. We expect the reaction of our allies and partners that can not once again be based on equal distances and words without reciprocation, but on concrete commitments for the sovereignty and sovereign rights of Greece. “
Critical day for immigrants
The escalation of the Turkish provocation has sounded the alarm at all levels, given that the refugee-migration flows have been gradually increasing lately. Already, the flows during the first four months of 2022 are increased by 28% on the islands and by 23% in total, compared to the same period last year, while a new incident occurred yesterday between Chios and Samos, when 5 sailing boats and 4 inflatables with 590 illegal immigrants, tried to enter the country.
Observing the movements, the Coast Guard immediately intervened, with the result that none of the vessels finally managed to enter Greek territorial waters. However, the large number of boats that appeared yesterday to carry the immigrants did not go unnoticed, in the aftermath of the Prime Minister's trip to the USA. In this context, today is expected to play a significant role in assessing the situation, ie in relation to any attempt by the neighboring country to re-instrumentalize the refugee-migration flows in the near future, following its 2020 practices in Evros. p>
NATO and in-depth elections
On another level, although the Turkish President described the Greek Prime Minister as persona non grata, at the same time Ankara's attempt to use tools its bilateral relations, composing the canvas of its broader claims, is neither unknown nor new to its international interlocutors.
Despite Ankara's veto against Sweden and Finland joining NATO to strengthen its role in the region, according to a State Department spokesman, Turkey's approach to Sweden and Finland's accession process is not a bilateral issue between Washington and Ankara, “burning” its veto paper as a lever for pressure on Turkish demands against the US.
With Turkey feeling, after all, that its bases on the other side of the Atlantic are not as strong as in the past, the situation for the Turkish President becomes even more complex, given the collapse of his country's economy, but also the reef of the 2023 dual elections. With his party, the AKP, but also his partner Bahceli's National Action Party on a trajectory in all recent polls, the problems for the Turkish President are becoming increasingly difficult on the domestic front./p>
Indicative of this is the fact that the former Prime Minister of Turkey, Ahmet Davutoglu criticized the positions of the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis during his visit to the US, but mainly the absence of an immediate response from the Erdogan government, arguing that Turkish interests are not the personal “I”, but from cold steps and decisions.
Syria is wanted
At the end of yesterday, however, after the attack on the Greek Prime Minister, Turkish President announced his intention to immediately deploy a military operation in northeastern Syria, with a 30-kilometer “security zone” in dispute.
Looking at its southern border, the Turkish President described the cross-border Turkey – Syria as the main center of attacks, harassment and traps against Turkey, placing the relevant decisions on Thursday, a fact that makes many analysts “read” his intervention on Syrian soil as its main issue, after a series of rotations on the international stage in the last twenty-four hours.
