“Dense” the next ten days for Greek diplomacy. Athens’s aspirations by EU and NATO partners.
By Penelope Galliou
At a time when Athens is tearing them down one by one non-existent and unhistorical accusations of Ankarabased on the facts and principles of International Law, o Tayyip Erdogan insists on shuffling her deck Turkish propaganda and false allegationswith double targeting in the last twenty-four hours: on the one hand re-instrumentalization of immigration and on the other hand continuation of the staining of Greece at the forthcoming NATO Summit at the end of the month.
After the internationalization on the part of Athens of the Turkish provocation and delinquency and knowing the Turkish president that its propaganda and lies are not easy to overturn historynor to persuade allies and partners, quarrels with each other irrational and illegal allegations about the Greek islands while in the “game” he re-integrated the immigration, reaching the point of complaining to the Greek authorities for immigrant abuseat a time when traffickers’ circles are “partying” with their neighbor.
Shots that were repulsed with clear and unambiguous answer given by the government that “Greece responds with actions that save human lives in the Aegean and Evros”as mentioned by Giannis Oikonomou. Addressing Turkey, in fact, he noted that “they will do well to turn their attention to the circuits of traffickers who do not care about the value of human life”.
In fact, the Greek side in the strategy to speak with facts and documents, the illegal action of Turkey in the immigration revealed with data a little earlier the Minister of Immigration Notis Mitarakisstating that in Evros “ Incidents have been recorded and videotaped from abroad showing Turkish state vehicles disembarking migrants who then walk to try to cross into the EU.“.
Greece insists on internationalization
A detailed briefing to his European Union counterparts on the escalation of the Turkish provocation was provided by Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias. According to diplomatic sources, Mr. Dendias stressed that the Turkish provocative and delinquent behavior has escalated on a rhetorical level and on the field.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs preparing the ground for the forthcoming Summit in Brussels and the subsequent NATO Summit, from where Athens seeks a clear and unequivocal condemnation of Turkish behavior, underlined the ongoing revisionism of Turkey, which is expressed both by constant threats and by a direct questioning of the sovereignty of the Greek islands. He even pointed out that it is appropriate for all Member States to emphasize the commitment to maintaining the inviolability of borders and respect for international treaties, especially in the current context.
According to the same sources, the Foreign Minister also referred in detail to recent Turkish provocative actions, including overflights and violations close to strategic points, such as the port of Alexandroupolis, as well as instrumentalization of immigration especially in Evroswhere there is an increase in attempts to enter our country illegally.
At the same time, Athens is fully prepared for all the possible manifestations of Turkish aggression, as well as for the rumors that want the Turkish president. to raise the issue of demilitarization of the Greek islands during the NATO Summit in Madrid, with the government spokesman recalling how “Every similar and corresponding effort of Turkey in the past has been answered soberly and substantiated on the basis of international law”.
Diplomatic sources, however, estimate that it is not very likely that Tayyip Erdogan will place the non-existent accusation the demilitarization of the Greek islands at the NATO Summit, on the one hand because the Turkish Minister of Defense, Hulusi Akargave a positive image and promised a calm summer, during the brief meeting she had with him Greek Minister of the Armed Forces, Nikos Panagiotopoulos, at the last NATO Ministerial Summit in Brussels. On the other hand, because Turkey would create the image that, in addition to the other problems it has created, it also threatens a NATO country.
The same diplomatic sources estimate that the Turkish president might raise the issue of demilitarization of the islands, only if it has not been resolved by the Madrid Summit, the problem with Sweden and Finland. He would only do this if he wanted to disorient himself from the main problem, which is the accession of the two Scandinavian countries, and turn to Greece for distraction. If that happens, the Greek side will explain, as always calmly, that the NATO Summit is not the right place to make such absurd claims, the same sources said.
The next ten days, however, will be particularly “dense” for Greek diplomacy and the Greek government, with the prime minister continuing to lead the way in informing our country’s partners and allies and claiming both his 26 European counterparts in Brussels and his allies. in NATO, a clear condemnation of Turkish revisionismespecially in the critical geopolitical period we are going through and given that Greece remains a pillar of stability and security in the wider region of the Eastern Mediterranean.
