Athens vigilant as Turkey exerts soft power in region

Despite the end of the migrant crisis at the Evros land border last month, Greece remains vigilant and wary of Turkey's moves in the wider region.

This state has been further reinforced by the diversion of the focus of many regional players due to the coronavirus pandemic.

As a result Italy has not yet signed the joint declaration of Greece, Israel and Cyprus on the EastMed pipeline. Moreover, tripartite cooperation, especially that of Greece with Israel and Cyprus with US support is practically dormant.

Meanwhile Ankara appears focused on its regional aspirations and its effort to use the pandemic to exercise soft power in regions it believes belong within its sphere of influence. 

A case in point was observed a few days ago, when a Turkish cargo plane transported medical supplies to North Macedonia, Kosovo, Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina.