Exchange of allegations between Greece and Turkeyat a time when the two countries are essentially at the top geopolitical tensionswith the energy dossier and the consequent military and diplomatic repercussions. The Turkish foreign minister took care of it Mevlut Cavusoglu to revive the controversy over the American role in the Eastern Mediterranean, recalling that Turkey will supply arms and increase its military presence on the side Cyprus occupied by the Turks in response to the election United States partially revokedarms embargo in Cyprus. A few hours earlier, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan He claimed he wanted to “do whatever is necessary to defend that.” Turkish rights in the Aegean Islands”, raising further tensions as the current division of the Aegean Islands is the daughter of Treaty of Lausanne from 1923, regularly denied by Ankara since presence gas in this handkerchief of water.
geopolitics
According to Erdogan, Greece’s motivation to “arm the islands is incompatible with reason and alliance. The politics of provocation and from voltage it is not and will not be of any benefit to anyone”. Athens is concerned that this will be the case “Ukraine scheme” The Moscow-triggered annexation of the separatist republics can in some ways be replicated and invested in the Aegean as well Brussels and the Born the thing. In fact, the Vice President of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas, reiterated his confidence that Europe will be able to act in a coordinated and collaborative manner on the energy sector, an issue closely linked to tensions with Turkey. He said he was particularly concerned about “the uncontrollable inflammatory rhetoric Neighbors”, and explains that he himself interprets it as “a character of its own uncertainty about their position in the world and in the current geopolitical context”. Translated: while Ankara plays a role in the game Grain and Athens can count on unconditional support in post-war diplomacy in Ukraine Washington and Paris under gas and defense.
The Role of Greece
Greece has become the new gas hub of the Mediterranean Sea, since the pipeline passes through its territory Beatthe interconnector Igb with the Bulgaria and that the port of Alexandroupolis is currently interested in the project Frsu, a floating terminal that allows you to increase the presence (and use) of gas. Indeed, Athens is the most important hub in the Mediterranean, also in terms of the decisions that are made about the gas present in Cyprus and in Cyprus Israelor rather the insoles Leviathan, zohr and Kronos. Until last year, the construction of the Eastmed pipeline bring in Salento the 1,900 km pipelines, but later the US stopped the onshore/offshore project because they said it was too expensive (6 billion dollars) and a harbinger of tensions with Turkey that would have been ruled out. The invasion of Ukraine changed the pattern and brought the issue of Europe’s energy independence back into focus. Among other things, the Italian Edison has recently reiterated that if the pipeline is built in 4 years, Italy could benefit from an additional gas flow of 10 billion cubic meters.
Turkey & Libya
For this reason too, Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu will be visiting in the near future Libya to sign the bilateral agreement for the Exclusive Economic Zone where some Turkish companies will be involved in the exploitation petroleum and natural gas. Erdogan’s right hand continues to accuse Athens interferencewithout thinking that this Turkish-Libyan agreement is one “vertical” break in the Mediterranean map because it creeps into the waters Crete, which is known to be Greek sovereign territory, i.e. an EU member state. According to Cavusoglu, Greece is upset because Turkey has taken on an important role. “First of all, we signed the agreement with Libya on demarcation sea areas. So we definitely have i western borders our continental shelf. Ships from Greece, Greek Cypriots and third countries have tried to enter the country nine times. We avoided all of that with the diplomatic effortsie with the measures we have taken on site. Turkey’s importance and success in the international arena are driving Greece crazy. That is why Greece wants to challenge Turkey”. Among the occasions Cavusoglu refers to is the one from two weeks ago when the Greek Coast Guard opened fire on a ship she had refused to stop offshore for an inspection Bozcaada (Tenedos), imNorth Aegean. The hypothesis being investigated by the investigators is that of arms smuggling on the Turkey-Libya axis. before the call Anatolianwas the name of the ship Mavi Marmara and was involved in the 2010 in an attempt to break the Israeli blockade out gaza.
The role of the United States
Washington, which signed a historic bilateral treaty with Athens for the use of four Hellenic bases, has identified Greece as its new base military support for two quadrants of absolute importance such as the Euro-Mediterranean and the Middle Eastern: the American Sixth Fleet will carry out maintenance on a Greek shipyard island, the base of Souda Bay on Crete will be doubled to increase capacity nuclear submarineswhere the airport’s long runway is already being used for parking B-52 bombers andair force presidents if necessary. Finally, the port of Alexandroupolis is already being used by the US Navy to move troops and vehicles NATO countries located in the extreme east of the EU. Greece even after the purchase 18 Rafale Hunt it was also to receive a patrol from France F-35.
The provocations
Coming back to the Turkish threats, the words of Erdogan and Cavusoglou are added to the ongoing ones trespassing in the Hellenic skies of the f 16 and from Turkish drones: The Minister of Defense also responded provocatively to one of the fighters Akar, which opens another front with Athens and Brussels due to Turkey’s membership in NATO. Turkey, which a few days later startled all Atlantic allies by its participation Samarkand at the top of the SCO, for the first time in NATO history. The US National Security Advisor spoke on the subject in Istanbul two days ago Jake Sullivan and the chief adviser to the Turkish Presidency Ibrahim Kalin. The two sides also discussed their continued support for Ukraine givenRussian aggression, including condemning Russia’s attempt to illegally annex Ukrainian territory. However, special emphasis was placed on “the meaning of dialog and from diplomacy in the dissolution of a disputes in the Eastern Mediterranean”.
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