Ankara’s extreme rhetoric that scares

By Antonis Anzoletou

The escalation of the aggressive rhetoric at the highest level, by Tayyip Erdoğan, that “it can suddenly come to Greece overnight” was another turning point in the relations with the neighbors.

The justification of the harsh campaign rhetoric that will stop when the neighbors go to the polls and their nationalist sentiments are vented may be marginally tolerable, but only up to a point. It is expected that the narrative of the Turkish president will be followed by other officials and members of his cabinet.

But when it comes to him Mevlut Cavusoglu, the heads of the country’s diplomacy, things get complicated. Is it the official position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey that “will they come to Athens at night?” or just a successful campaign slogan? The connection of the sovereignty of the Greek islands with their demilitarization is something that has been said many times, but it cannot go unnoticed.

Circles of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that they have responded with letters to the UN. They pointed out that Greece’s positions are known and clear and are based on international law.

They added, in fact, that they will not follow the merry-go-round of tension that serves Turkey’s plans. The Greek government believes that this is a hysterical reaction by Turkey, which, however, does not capture the big picture. The Prime Minister from Tripoli had announced that Greece is open to dialogue, but always on the basis of International Law.

The alarm that now exists in Athens is multiple. The possibility that the interim government of Libya will give Ankara authorization to move for hydrocarbon exploration southwest of Crete cannot be ruled out. It is certain that Tayyip Erdogan is looking for a new sensational move.

Nikos Dendias went to Libya and Cairo, so they don’t want to stay with “crossed hands”. Apart from the fact that in Ankara they are reportedly following with great attention the discussion that has opened for the extension of territorial waters in specific areas to 12 nautical miles. And let no final decisions have been made.

A statement that passed relatively “in fine print” shows the tactics that Ankara has been following lately. When the representative of the Turkish presidency, Ibrahim Kalin, talks about “threats” to his country’s security that “come from outside” and equates destabilized areas such as Iraq, the Caucasus and Syria with the Aegean, things are not simple. He wants to show that he has a position of power.

They have obviously understood that as long as the war in Ukraine lasts and Putin does not back down, the West does not want to distance itself from Turkey. “My old sieve art”, however for Erdoğan who always wishes to “spread the straw” and open many fronts.

At this time he is trying with great intensity to achieve the recognition of the pseudo-state through the back door. A strategy in favor of the occupied to upgrade the status that became clear with the attempt to join the Organization of Turkic-speaking States as a “state”. He may not have succeeded, but he has proven that he does not give up so easily.

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