The Aegean is back in the spotlight

The handling of Greek-Turkish affairs requires a particularly careful mix of prudence and decisiveness. Although this has been the rule for decades, it is now of pivotal importance.

Turkey is facing its own crucial issues on a number of dangerous fronts on the local level. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is an unpredictable, arrogant leader who is hard to decipher. Even the top analysts in the world's major powers find him difficult to read. Decisions such as the shooting down of a Russian warplane remain inexplicable. There are those who consider Turkey to be weak, possibly on the brink of collapse. They seem to be in a hurry and are proof of how dangerous it can be when desire is confused with reality in geopolitical analysis.

There is another factor which ought to concern us. The Aegean has come to the forefront and become a priority. The refugee-migrant crisis...