“Better not to bother Turkey right now” – “we have a proverb [στην Τουρκία] – “you whistle as you pass the cemetery”
Ankara is trying to blackmail the Greek side in view of the European Union Summit.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s stance at this week’s EU summit will determine whether Turkey will raise the issue of demilitarization of islands at the forthcoming NATO Summit later this month, a senior Turkish government official told the Greek edition of EURACTIV.
Although the debate on the demilitarization of the Greek islands has disappeared from the Turkish media in recent days, it always remains an issue that may be raised at the North Atlantic Alliance Summit in Madrid.
“We will see how he behaves “Greece, and then we will calibrate the dosage” is the message from the Turkish side on how it will behave in NATO towards Greece, when asked by EURACTIV to a senior Turkish government official.
The Turkish leadership is waiting to see how Greece will behave at the EU Summit and will react accordingly.
The official hinted that if the Greek Prime Minister’s attitude towards Turkey in the Council is aggressive, there will be a corresponding reaction from Ankara in NATO.
According to the draft conclusions of the Summit published yesterday Tuesday by EURACTIV, EU leaders are expected to condemn Turkey again for the new escalation against Greece.
“The European Council has expressed deep concern over Turkey’s repeated recent actions and statements. “Turkey must respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all EU member states,” the draft conclusions read.
Recalling its previous conclusions and the declaration of 25 March 2021, the European Council “expects Turkey to fully respect international law, to de-escalate tensions in the interests of regional stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and to promote good neighborly relations.” way”.
With the war in Ukraine continuing for a fourth month and Turkey vetoing the accession of Finland and Sweden, in recent days reports have surfaced that Ankara will raise the issue of demilitarization of the Greek islands.
An issue that has recently been raised by the entire political world in Turkey, from President Erdogan to the opposition parties.
“Better not to bother Turkey right now”
In case the issue of demilitarization of the Greek islands of the Eastern Aegean is submitted to NATO for discussion by Turkey, there will be an immediate upgrade of the questioning of Greek sovereignty by a rhetorical request to another issue of Greek-Turkish differences added for discussion at the highest level.
“If you want a calm summer, then start behaving like this,” a senior Turkish official told EURACTIV last week, adding that “it’s better not to bother Turkey right now.”
As the same source stated, “it is not necessary to keep shouting that Greece is capable and will defend its territory if necessary. Why keep saying the obvious? Who is known in history to say you are welcome in our land? “
Concluding, he pointed out that “we have a proverb [στην Τουρκία] – “You whistle as you walk through the cemetery” – means that you are afraid of the environment, but you try to hide it by whistling a melody.
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