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Athens is on hold, waiting to see if Turkey will make de-escalation moves in Eastern mediterranean, or on the contrary it will escalate, seeking to drag Greece into heated conflict. The Mitsotakis government has made it clear in every tone that it will sit at the dialogue table only if Ankara stops provoking. While the rope is being pulled, dialogue cannot take place.
The facts show that Tayyip Erdogan wants it all and wants it now! Apparently he and his staff believe the situation is in their favor. Above all consider that with him Donald trump in the White House there is no need to be afraid of the tripods of the Americans. The Europeans are not afraid of them, as the message they have really received from Berlin is that they do not want sanctions imposed, much more sanctions that are painful for Turkey.
Only France’s stance worries Ankara, as Russia is clearly not going to lift a finger to stop Tayyip Erdogan. According to the information, the Turkish president appears to have received relevant assurances from Vladimir Putin.
In this context, a turn from Turkey is not expected within the period of about 20 days given by the EU, that is, until the extraordinary Summit, where it will be decided whether or not to impose sanctions and what sanctions. Member states that do not want to pressure Ankara with sanctions are asking Athens to make some concessions regarding the content of the Greek-Turkish dialogue, in order to persuade Tayyip Erdogan to stop the investigations and sit at the table. .
«Dialogue must take place without threats and blackmail, without provocations, without the threat of war“He emphasizes from his side or Nikos Dendias In an interview. It is obvious that Athens cannot engage in dialogue in this climate and it has made this clear to the European partners, who understand it.
by Turkish side, but it seems that the priority is different. It seeks to exert suffocating political and military pressure on Greece, wear it down and ultimately bend it to turn the bilateral dialogue into a full-blown negotiation on Turkish unilateral expansionist claims. It is indicative that the Turkish president clarified that he is not going to back down from the “Blue Homeland” strategy.
“It is no coincidence that those who tried to exclude our country from the Eastern Mediterranean are the same ones who tried to invade our country a century ago,” he said on the occasion of the 98th anniversary of “Victory Day” (against the Greeks) and added “As well as the struggle for liberation and victory took place, despite all kinds of difficulties, we will not hesitate to thwart the ambitions of Sevres (Treaty of Sevres) in the Blue Homeland today. “
He even returned, stating that he was not going to withdraw from the implementation of the illegal Turkish-Libyan pact. On the same wavelength is the Turkish Foreign Minister, who made a new reference to casus belli. «Greece acts as it wants where it has rights. That does not concern us. However, in the Aegean they cannot extend their borders to 12 miles. This is a cause of war. We are not going to allow Greece to extend its territorial waters from 6 to 12 miles. I say it very clearly».
He even announced that the Turkish research ship Oruc Reis it will remain in the Eastern Mediterranean for 90 days. At a time when Mevlüt Çavuşoλουlu threatens Greece with war, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, according to Turkish media, has ordered the Turkish navy to open fire if necessary.
Another move on the chessboard is the issue of influence on Kastellorizo’s EEZ. The Permanent Representative of Turkey to the United Nations, Feridun Sinirlioglu, after repeating the Turkish narrative, as it has developed, stressed: “Greece has also recognized that the islands do not have automatic rights to the continental shelf and the EEZ in its agreement with Italy and its so-called agreement with Egypt. Even on the island of Crete, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean».
Amid these threats, events on the Greek-Turkish front are moving in anticipation of the Summit (24-25 September) and whatever European sanctions against Turkey it decides. Until then, however, no one can rule out a hot episode.
