site.btaAre Ankara-Athens Tensions Re-escalating?
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a sharp statement about Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday, which highlighted new sparks of tension between the two neighbours and NATO Allies, Turkey and Greece.
Erdogan accused Mitsotakis of anti-Turkish propaganda following the Greek Prime Minister's May 17 address to the Joint Session of the U.S. Congress in which he urged the US to block the sale of American-made F-16 fighter jets to Turkey.
"This year we were supposed to have a strategic council meeting. There's no longer anyone called Mitsotakis in my book. I will never accept having such a meeting with him because we walk on the same path as politicians who keep their promises, who have character and who are honourable," Erdogan said as quoted by Turkish media. He added that earlier this year, the two had agreed to not include third countries in their dispute and accused the Greek Prime Minister of breaking this promise.
At the same time, the Turkish President expressed a hope that the US would make up its own mind on selling F-16s to Turkey without needing to consult Mitsotakis.
Turkey has requested to buy 40 Lockheed Martin-made F-16 fighter jets and nearly 80 modernization kits for its warplanes. Ankara wants to modernize its air force with the money paid for the multi-role combat jet F-35 as the US Department of Defense removed Ankara from the F-35 programme after it purchased an S-400 air defence system from Russia in 2019.
"Currently there are 10 military bases in Greece. What is the reason? Who are they threatening?" Erdogan asked against the backdrop of the Greek Parliament's ratification of a protocol which extended a defence agreement with the US by five years. The agreement envisages US Armed Forces operating and training at military bases in Volos, Litochoro, Alexandroupolis and Souda Bay.
Erdogan also accused Greece of harbouring members of the Gulenist Terror Group (FETO), which he holds responsible for the 2016 coup attempt.
Erdogan also reiterated that Turkey had made a mistake by readmitting Greece to NATO's military wing in 1980.
Erdogan's harsh words came nearly two and a half months after his meeting with Mitsotakis in Istanbul on March 13 when the two decided to improve communication at all levels, hold a 5th meeting of the High-Level Cooperation Council in Greece in the autumn and put the focus on a positive agenda in bilateral relations complicated by multiple disputes. Ankara and Athens have serious differences on a number of issues, including the continental shelf in the Mediterranean, airspace, energy resources, Cyprus, and the status of some Aegean islands. In the summer of 2020, the two NATO Allies were on the brink of military conflict over disputed areas in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Exploratory talks between the two sides resumed in early 2021 after a five-year hiatus but did not make any progress. The meeting between Erdogan and Mitsotakis, which took place in a cordial atmosphere, did not iron out the differences, but created expectations of steps towards opening a new chapter in bilateral relations. A Turkish presidency statement after the talks in March pointed out that "Turkey and Greece have a special responsibility in the changing European security architecture following Russia's attack on Ukraine" and stated that the meeting focused "on the mutual and regional benefits of strengthening cooperation between the two countries".
However, the positive atmosphere in bilateral relations has been marred since the end of April following repeated accusations by Greece against Ankara for violating its airspace in the Aegean region, which the Turkish side dismisses as "groundless", responding with counteraccusations. Prime Minister Mitsotakis called on Turkey to stop violating Greek airspace, saying that this undermined NATO unity at a difficult time following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Turkey's Foreign Ministry rejected the accusations. According to Ankara, Greece is provoking tensions in the region and the Turkish air force's actions are in response to "provocations" by Greece.
The Kathimerini newspaper reported in late April that Greece had frozen plans for a new round of defence ministry-level talks with Turkey as part of confidence-building dialogue following a series of overflights of Turkish jets in the eastern Aegean.
Greek officials criticized Erdogan's statement on Monday but said Athens would not engage in such a confrontation.
"We are not going to fall into the trap of escalation," Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias was quoted as saying by Greek media.
The ANA-MPA news agency pointed out that during Wednesday's discussion in Davos with World Economic Forum President Borge Brende, Mitsotakis sent a strong message following the latest statements by Turkish President Erdogan. Questioned about Erdogan's reaction and relations with Turkey, Mitsotakis said: "We always need to talk and we always want to keep channels of communication open. We're never going to be the ones who will not talk to our neighbours. On the other hand, if President Erdogan thinks that I will not defend the sovereignty and the sovereign rights of Greece and I will not make the case to the international audience that Turkey is behaving as a revisionist power, then he's wrong." Mitsotakis said that a month after his meeting with Erdogan, there was an unprecedented number of overflights over Greek islands. Stressing that this behaviour was "completely unacceptable", the Greek Prime Minister said he would raise that issue whenever he could until Turkey changed its behaviour.
According to Greek media reports, the issue of provocations by Turkey is expected to be raised by Mitsotakis at the May 30-31 EU Summit in Brussels.
Meanwhile, the US State Department called on Greece and Turkey to resolve their differences in a diplomatic manner, while avoiding rhetoric that stokes greater tension, the ANA-MPA news agency reported.
It remains to be seen whether relations between Turkey and Greece will enter a new spiral of tension and confrontation, or the two NATO Allies will resume positive dialogue amid common security challenges.
/RY/
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