Vying for Berlin’s favor

Athens and Ankara are vying for Berlin's favor, and the apple of discord will be in the hands of German Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of the European Council on December 10.

The Greek government seems disappointed in Berlin's policy. The sentiment was reflected in Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias' interview with Politico, in which he stressed that Germany is not living up to its hegemonic role. On the contrary, during the recent meeting of NATO foreign ministers, his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu praised Germany as "the only honest broker" in solving the Greek-Turkish dispute.

Nicosia and Athens are naturally unhappy with Berlin's stance and Dendias did very well to emphasize the issue in the Politico interview. The only issue is that by joining the European Union, Greece and Cyprus ceased to be fully independent states and have gradually given up chunks of...