KYSEA meets today under Ankara’s “carrot and whip” tactics

By Penelope Galliou

Under the chairmanship of the prime minister, the Governmental National Security Council meets today at 11 am. This is the regular meeting, which now takes place every two months and is expected to focus, among other things, on the current developments in national issues as they have been taking shape recently and their dimensions.

For now, however, Ankara insists on the “carrot and stick” tactic in Greek-Turkish relations in an attempt to bring together and “compromise” the domestic and international audience. A little twenty-four hours after the meeting of the close associates of Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Tayyip Erdoğan, Anna Maria Bura and Ibrahim Kalin in Brussels, under the watchful eye of the diplomatic advisor of the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the Turkish president reverted to aggressive rhetoric. And while theoretically at least Ankara – because it is certain for Athens – wishes to keep open the minimum communication channels, with a new crescendo of provocation, Tayyip Erdoğan unleashed new threats of a missile strike. Advertising the Turkish Tayfun missile for the umpteenth time, he announced that he requested an increase in its range to a thousand kilometers. “We do not consider 560 kilometers enough. We had a relevant meeting last week. ‘What is the final situation we are in?’, I asked. We will reach 1,000 kilometers,” said the Turkish President.

Erdogan remembered the “plans” for an invasion again

Tayyip Erdoğan recalled his “plans” to invade Greece “overnight” as he usually threatens, while referring to the delinquent behavior of the Turkish fighters, he once again tried to reverse the reality, accusing Greece of violations in the Aegean. “Yesterday or today in the Aegean they did some crazy things again. Of course our people did what they had to do. Don’t do it. Sit quietly. Don’t mess with us. We have no interest in getting involved with you in the Aegean. Once these the engagements were called “dog fights.”

The Greek side, unmoved by its own strategy, refuses to follow Ankara’s tactics and the policy of escalation, but insists on the path of international law and the internationalization of Turkish provocation and its neighbor’s revisionist plans. In this context, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias, during his meeting with his Serbian counterpart, Ivica Dacic, sent a harsh response to Ankara via Belgrade. “We are not living in peaceful times. I am referring to revisionism, which combined with neo-Ottoman ambitions and threats of war is something that Greece faces every day due to Turkey’s absurd rhetoric. But I would like to say from here, from Belgrade, that Greece will continue to defend its sovereignty and sovereign rights within the framework of International Law and the International Law of the Sea” explained the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Athens insists on open channels of communication

At the same time, Athens does not abandon the belief that the channels of communication with Ankara must – even under the current challenging conditions – remain open with the Minister of Defense Nikos Panagiotopoulos setting the tone. Shortly before the beginning of the meeting of the armaments committee in the Parliament, he was asked by the journalists about the meeting held in Brussels by the associates of Mr. Mitsotakis and Mr. Erdogan and he replied that it is “reasonable and imperative to reopen the communication channel between Athens and Ankara”.

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