The Greek president provokes Turkey by visiting a small island in the center of the eastern Mediterranean dispute



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(CNN) – For weeks, Greece and Turkey have clashed in the eastern Mediterranean, raising fears that a dispute between two NATO allies will escalate into a full-blown regional crisis.

The problem, simply put, is that Turkey is claiming oil and gas exploration rights in an area that conflicts with Greece’s own claims. Rather than resolve the disagreement through dialogue, Turkey sent its navy and research ships into disputed waters in August, and both countries held rival military exercises in the area in the following days.

Greece’s first president, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, confidently entered this highly charged environment on Sunday, taking a high-powered military helicopter to Kastellorizo, a small Greek island in the eastern Mediterranean, on the 77th anniversary of her nationality.

The 6-kilometer tongue of hard rocks and scrub, one of the easternmost islands of Greece, owes millennia of habitation to geographical good fortune. With its back to the Aegean and its mouth towards Turkey’s imminent landmass, the bay of Kastellorizo ​​turns the ocean swells into the tranquility of the ponds, making it a treasured port for many centuries of traders operating between Asia. Minor and Europe.

Today, Kastellorizo ​​is at the center of the dispute over energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean. Turkey says Greece is unfairly asserting its claim to the area based on small islands like this one off its coast, tricking Ankara into pulling it out of the ocean floor to explore. Israel and Egypt have already found rich gas reserves under the Mediterranean, and there is every reason to believe that there is more to discover.

On Sunday, President Sakellaropoulou told island residents that “Turkey’s illegal actions have caused tensions never before seen in the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean. The tensions point not only to Greece, but also to the EU and NATO. , which threaten peace and stability in the region. ” He added that Greece was “open to dialogue” and that “immediate de-escalation by Turkey is a necessary prerequisite for political discussion.”

Just hours before his arrival, Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced that he was beefing up the army, splashing 18 French state-of-the-art fighter jets, launching the search for four new navy frigates and adding 15,000 more troops. the army.

When asked why these moves were being made now, Sakellaropoulou told CNN: “Not only to send a message, but if you want to have peace, you must always be better prepared for war; an ancient Greek has said that we have to be prepared for everything. “

The president’s response seemed to take his entourage by surprise, but this is the harsh reality of the harsh place these two neighbors have come to. Neither side really wants war, but neither side can walk away.

The president’s visit to Kastellorizo ​​was criticized by Turkey’s defense minister on Sunday. “As if there is no other island to go to for the celebrations, they go there. Of course this annoys us,” Hulusi Akar told the state-run Anadolu news agency, although he added that Turkey was also in favor of “dialogue.” and “political solutions”.

Greece says it will enter into talks if Turkey stops its warships, but for now it is unclear if the Turks plan to comply for more than a few days. A Turkish research vessel that had been escorted into disputed waters by Turkish military ships now headed back to port in Turkey, a development described as a “positive step” by the Greek government on Sunday.

When Greece and Turkey talk badly to each other, it is not wise to turn your back on them. The rain often follows when their disputes cloud the horizon. Just two generations ago Turkey dropped paratroopers on Greece’s neighbor Cyprus, splitting the island in two. Hundreds of thousands of refugees fled to Europe, a peace agreement has yet to be signed and the Turkish-controlled north still awaits international recognition.

Just last week, Mitsotakis wrote an article published in several major European newspapers about his great-uncle’s dealings with Turkey’s founder Kemal Ataturk in 1930. His point was that Greece and Turkey have a history of quarrels and reconciliations, and There have been more good days than bad.

But today there is much more at stake. The eastern Mediterranean has proven its wealth under the ocean floor as proxy wars break out on its shores. Russia has vested interests in Syria and Libya, and Vladimir Putin is tightening his grip on the sea that he considers vital to Russia’s naval interests.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has signed a maritime agreement with Libya that cuts across the interests of Russia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as disrupting a possible gas pipeline from the eastern Mediterranean to Europe.

Israel has gas to export, Europe wants to diversify gas imports outside of Russia, and French President Emmanuel Macron, who opposes Turkey in Libya, has supported Greece. The United States is also sympathetic to Greece’s difficulties.

These layers of multinational complexity run the risk of setting off a chain reaction and, like the hydrocarbons Turkey and Greece want to extract, a mistake could be explosive.

This story was first published on CNN.com “Greek President provokes Turkey by visiting a small island at the center of the eastern Mediterranean dispute”



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