Europe also needs to worry about alienating Greece

The European Council's December 11, 2020 decision to continue to postpone imposing sanctions against Turkey over its actions in the Eastern Mediterranean was a disappointing, although not entirely unexpected, outcome for Greece. Even the tone of the Council's final draft of its conclusions was quite far from the expression of solidarity that Athens expected.

Turkey's importance to several European members as a trade partner and the significant role Turkey plays in the NATO alliance, among other well-known reasons, have made several European states reluctant to alienate Ankara.

Turkey is a major Mediterranean actor of strategic significance and a win-win solution based on both the rule of law and realpolitik would certainly benefit all parties concerned. That said, Greece is also a newly emerging power in the Eastern Mediterranean, but the recognition of Greece's...