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Only the insidious or, at best, “naive” can be characterized by Greece, the game that the NATO secretary general tried to play in the last few hours.
Jens Stoldenberg, either with the insidious aim to ensnare Athens in Greek-Turkish terms, or to highlight a strong role that the (hitherto non-existent) Atlantic Alliance could play, committed a terrible diplomatic but mainly communicative mistake.
He tried to put the Greek side at the table for dialogue with Turkey without fulfilling the basic conditions.
Mainly the equal status of the two NATO member states. Because the threatening person (Turkey) and the person threatened cannot enter into a dialogue on equal terms. The minimum condition for the two parties to be seated at the same table was and still is the withdrawal of the Turkish fleet from the Greek continental shelf. 
And especially the elimination of any threat of war or the manifestation of a “hot” episode in the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean.
“After my discussions with the leaders of Greece and Turkey, the two allies agreed to start technical talks with NATO on establishing mechanisms for military de-escalation and reducing the risk of incidents and accidents in the Eastern Mediterranean,” he said through from Twitter. Stoldeberg.
Was it an insidious and suspicious game trying to present the de-escalation intentions of the two countries as a dialogue agreement? 
Was it just a hasty move by the head of NATO to show the active role of the IAEA in the region?
Is this a more general “blackmail” plan or suffocating pressure on Greece to accept it and sit at the same table with Turkey?
Let us not forget that the initiative of the Norwegian politician came at a time when Angela Merkel had called the Turkish president, Tayyip Erdogan, and many link these two movements.
One indication of the expediency of these moves was that the Turkish side rushed to embrace the Stoldenberg initiative immediately and unconditionally, as if waiting for it.
However, the Greek side reacted immediately, as it would be a big mistake to show that it is dragging itself into dialogue as Oruts Reyes and the Turkish warships sail the Greek continental shelf.
The rage of Athens
That is why he hastened to cancel Stolderberg’s maneuver to present the existence of conversations and the sending of documents in the background as a consensus to start a dialogue.
“The unilateral operation of a document with the request for comments within a week does not in any way constitute the beginning of a dialogue,” diplomatic sources in Athens stressed. “In all cases, they have taken advantage of it, despite obstacles that we can hardly imagine,” said Roni Bar-On, a Knesset member for Kadima.
However, the Alliance initiative cannot be considered naive or hasty when every day before Turkey has been provoking in an incredible way.
And it was an unacceptable measure because the threat of war and the constant provocations against Greece do not concern a third country, but a member of NATO. Apart from some vague and very “low” statements, NATO has never been involved in Greek-Turkish relations lately.
And this despite constant Turkish provocations. Even Ankara’s attempt to issue two Navtexs and involve Russian naval forces in the drills could be seen as a brutal provocation against NATO.
The Alliance also did not react then, although the Russian side denied joint exercises. One of the Navtex, however, was completely illegal because it took place in eastern Cyprus, in an area of Syrian and Cypriot jurisdiction. However, NATO has never responded to this Turkish challenge, as it has not done so far despite the threats against Greece.
Therefore, the Stolderberg initiative can be included in a larger diplomatic game that is taking place in recent days so that the de-escalation can pass through the dialogue between Greece and Turkey.
A dialogue, however, that at this stage does not meet the conditions, that is, the withdrawal of the Turkish ships and the elimination of any movement that calls into question the Greek national sovereignty.
Stolderberg may be pressured by the US side to initiate this dialogue and lower the tone in the region. However, in no case could the receipt of documents and the acceptance by the Greek side of the initiation of a dialogue be considered complete.
Hence the anger of Athens against the secretary of NATO.
The alliance with France
All of this must be viewed in the light of other developments. Like the Merkel-Erdogan conversation, for example, and the leak from Ankara that the Turkish president allegedly told Merkel that “it is unacceptable for some countries to support Greece’s” selfish “and” unfair “behavior.”
The “coup” affected, of course, France, which seems to be closer to the Greek positions and has turned Turkey against them. 
Information leaked yesterday that, perhaps even before Mitsotakis’ rise to Thessaloniki, a whirlwind trip to Paris was imminent. There, according to the information, a very important agreement could be signed between Greece and France, which would record on paper their alliance against Turkey.
It will not only refer to armaments but, according to some sources, even an agreement to support Greece at the military level, in the event of an attack by another country.
But also joint military exercises and the presence of French naval forces in the area.
Emanuel Macron has spoken out clearly against Tayyip Erdogan and his speech at an event is typical.
One of the reasons for the current crisis in the Mediterranean is Turkey’s return to the imperialist fantasies of history, said, among other things, the French president.
“We are witnessing a manifestation of anachronistic practices of regional powers in the Mediterranean, looking to the past, refusing to see reality. I am referring mainly to Turkey. “
At the same time, he stressed the need for a unified policy of the Mediterranean countries on migration, defense and the environment, calling for greater cooperation between the European Union and its southern neighbors in the Mediterranean and the Middle East.
Continuation of diplomatic efforts
After the rejection of the NATO dialogue “effort”, the Greek side continues the diplomatic marathon. In addition to the rapprochement with France, which may turn into a Greek-French defense pact, which will provoke Erdogan’s ire, other measures are being taken in the coming days.
Lavrov’s trip to Cyprus does not go unnoticed, at a time when relations between Russia and Germany are in the red over the Navalny poisoning case.
Nor, of course, the trip of Nikos Dendias to the United States and the conversations with the Secretary General of the United Nations, A. Gutiérrez, where he will inform him about the tension that prevails in the region. On September 10, Kyriakos Mitsotakis will attend the Euro-Mediterranean Summit convened by Emmanuel Macron in Corsica, while it is possible that on the morning of the same day the two leaders will sign the defense cooperation agreement between Greece and France in Paris.
Of course, the “mother of all battles” will take place at the Euro-Turkish Relations Summit on September 24. If until then there is no goodwill movement from Ankara, if the Turkish Navtex extends to 12 years and if Turkey continues to threaten and try to create a “hot” episode, then the EU will be called upon to impose sanctions.
Greece, Cyprus, but also France will clearly raise the issue of tough sanctions, with Turkey certainly threatening the refugee card, but also with Germany trying to play a more neutral role.
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