Turkey is escalating the tension – Greece’s resounding response – Important visit to Athens by American officials

With non-existent accusations of violation of the Treaty of Lausanne and provocative references to a supposedly “Turkish” minority in Thrace, Ankara is escalating its rhetoric against Greece and attempting to reverse reality.

“While Greece should provide the Turkish minority of Western Thrace with the necessary support and facilitation for the election, management and structuring of its Muftis, it is unacceptable that it tries to bring the Mufti under its own control against its will of the Turkish minority of Western Thrace”, reports the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey.

The response of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was immediate, speaking of falsification of the truth and emphasizing that Ankara’s policies led to the near annihilation of the thriving Greek minority in Istanbul, Imbro and Tenedo.

“Our Muslim fellow citizens in Thrace live in a European country. They enjoy everything that a democratic and privileged state provides to all its citizens, without exceptions. Let Turkey consider, before making suggestions to anyone, how many of the articles of the Treaty of Lausanne it has itself respected”, underlined the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“Constitutional imperatives and what is provided for and described by international law and conventions signed by our country have been fully taken into account,” said the Government Spokesman, Yiannis Oikonomou.

Strict warning to Ankara from Von der Leyen

At the same time, everyone’s eyes are on the floating drilling rig “Abdulhamid Khan” which is expected to start for the Northern Mediterranean on August 9. In fact, the president of the European Commission issued a stern warning to Ankara to refrain from unilateral actions, otherwise it will face new sanctions.

“In the event that Turkey does not constructively engage in the development of a genuine partnership with the European Union but returns to new unilateral actions or provocations in violation of International Law, this will have political and economic consequences,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. Der Leyen.

The prevailing scenario wants Ankara to send the floating drilling rig initially to Cyprus to gauge the Greek and international reactions.

“Turkey has so far drilled six wells in Cyprus, in areas outside the demarcation as well as within demarcated blocks. It will probably start somewhere there and depending on the reactions we will see how it will move”, said the Deputy Minister of Education, Angelos Syrigos.

“It is not excluded that he will move west towards the Greek side, come marginally where the EEZs meet, but the most likely thing is that he will move east towards Cyprus”, said Alexis Diakopoulos, Former National Security Advisor.

Athens closely monitors Ankara’s movements and keeps its Armed Forces on standby.

Important visit to Athens by a delegation of the American Senate

GEETHA meeting with Congress delegation

A delegation of the US House of Representatives led by the Member of the House Jason Crowe made, today, Thursday, an official visit to GEETHA.

The delegation was welcomed by the GEETHA general Konstantinos Floros.

In his short greeting, the head of the Greek Orthodox Church emphasized the importance of the continuous and dynamic development of the strategic relationship between Greece and the USA.

He also referred to the effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in terms of the defense and security of the Euro-Atlantic area and the active participation of Greece in NATO’s actions to strengthen the Eastern wing of the Alliance.

The Chief GEETHA @ChiefHNDGS received a Delegation of the Parliament @HouseIntel of 🇺🇸 led by @RepJasonCrow as part of an official visit to #GEETHA #HNDGS

🔗See the Meeting Press Release➡️ https://t.co/GlcsZhhcrL pic.twitter.com/SXwWUnV0Xb

— GEETHA-HNDGS (@hndgspio) August 4, 2022

He also pointed out the role of the Armed Forces in the context of military collaborations and partnerships that have been developed in a bilateral and multilateral framework with countries in North Africa, the Middle East and the Balkans, contributing to the promotion and consolidation of the role of Greece as a reliable allypartner and pillar of security and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean region and beyond.

He also highlighted the cross-branch joint operational training activities implemented within the framework of the recently updated Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement as well as the upgrading of the facilities in Souda and Alexandroupoli and their role in providing important facilities to US and Alliance forces.

He did not fail to mention the bilateral interdisciplinary joint training of Greece and the USA “Poseidon’s Rage 22”, during which the F-15E Fighting Eagle fighter jets were hosted in Souda and for the first time the fighter jets F-35 Lightning IIwhich our country will soon acquire as well.

Finally, the GEETHA chief focused on the close cooperation of the Special Operations forces of the two countries, but also on the cooperation in the context of the exchange of information, analysis and cyber defense.

Meeting of Panagiotopoulos with his Estonian counterpart

At the same time, the Minister of National Defense, Nikos Panagiotopoulos, had an earlier meeting with his Estonian counterpart where the Turkish provocation was brought to light.

I had the opportunity to underline that the climate of tension that Turkey is unfortunately creating undermines security and stability in our region and the cohesion of NATOsaid Mr. Panagiotopoulos characteristically.

In more detail, the participation of Greek and Estonian military personnel in mutually beneficial training programs and activities organized in the military training facilities of the two countries, the security situation in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Baltic region and the developments in Ukraine, after the unprovoked Russian invasion , were at the center of the meeting of the Ministers of National Defense of the two countries, Nikos Panagiotopoulos and Hanno Pevkur, in Athens.

The Ministers of National Defense of Greece and Estonia reiterated their solidarity and willingness to assist and support Ukraine in every possible way.

Estonia’s aid to Ukraine to date amounts to approximately 245 million euros, which is almost 30% of our defense budget, but we are thinking of increasing it in the coming weeks, informed Mr. Pevkur.

Referring to the security situation in the Eastern Mediterranean, Mr. Panagiotopoulos underlined that the climate of tension that Turkey is unfortunately creating undermines security and stability in our region and the cohesion of NATO.

Also, the Minister of National Defense, after repeating the need “to create strong alliances with friendly countries, based on the rules of International Law and the principle of good neighborly relations”, noted that the visit of the Estonian counterpart provided him with the opportunity for a more complete understanding of threats and challenges faced by the two countries and the strengthening of their cooperation to effectively deal with them.

Estonia attaches great importance to the security of the Mediterranean and we are committed to safeguarding peace and security in the Alliance. “Solidarity and unity among Allies is extremely important and our efforts in the South, East and North support each other on Alliance Security issues,” said Mr. Pevkur. Finally, the Estonian Minister of National Defense noted that on May 6, Estonia and Greece completed one hundred years of diplomatic relations.

The meeting was attended by the Deputy Minister of National Defense Nikos Hardalias, the head of the GHET, General Konstantinos Floros, the head of the General Staff, Vice Admiral Stylianos Petrakis, the head of the General Staff, Vice Admiral Themistocles Bourolias and the deputy head of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Georgios Kellis, representing the absent leader.

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