Aegean

Escalating Tensions

(L-R) The Greek, Turkish and European Union (EU) flags wave outside the Foreign Ministry building before a meeting between Greek Foreign Minister Dendias and his Turkish counterpart Cavusoglu, in Athens, Greece, 31 May 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE/ORESTIS PANAGIOTOU

The governments of Turkey and Greece are risking conflict in a growing row over the Aegean, fuelled by domestic political concerns.

He urged Greece and Turkey to resolve their differences in the Aegean

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has led Turkey for the past 20 years, announced during a speech in Izmir on June 9 that he will seek re-election in next year's elections.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Sochi, Russia, September 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE/VLADIMIR SMIRNOV/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL.

"We warn Greece once more to avoid dreams, statements and actions that will lead to regret, as it did a century ago, and to return to its senses," Erdogan said, in a reference to Greece's defeat in the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922.

While referring to the Greek withdrawal during the Turkish War of Independence, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on June 9 warned Greece not to dream or take actions that will make it regret in the future.

Nine military bases established by the United States in Greece are a threat to Turkey's national security, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli said on May 31.

By George Gilson

By George Gilson

Fewer than ten days after Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis received repeated standing ovations from a Joint Session of the US Congress, the State Department is keeping an equal distance between NATO allies Greece and Turkey, even as Ankara is ratcheting up tensions in the Aegean and allowing migrant boats to reach the shores of the Aegean islands of Samos.

The article provocatively says Greece has escalated tensions against Turkey with multiple violations over the Aegean Sea