GREEK TURKISH AND GREEK - ITALIAN RELATIONS - 2020

Map of Greece and Part of Turkey

The early months of 2020 are extremely difficult for Greek/Turkish relations.  President Erdogan seems determined to proceed with his plans of pushing the hostile Turkish claims in the Aegean.


Many observers have warned that Athens should exercise restrain and have realistic expectations.  In this perspective, Greek diplomatic officials meeting with their Israeli counterparts have heard the cliches "the cooperation is deep and will deepen further, but in this part of the world, no one fights somebody else's war".


Meanwhile, the geopolitical situation has changed. Erdogan has mingled the Ministry of Foreign affairs with the state and Gray Wolves.  He is under pressure in the domestic front.  The US President Donald Trump gave him the "green light" to invade Syria and at the meantime granted him the certainty that he is free to act as he pleases, despite what the American deep state might say.  Germany's Mrs Angela Merkel is very afraid of the Turkish authoritarian due to the migration problem. Moreover, Erdogan is in very good terms with Moscow.


Erdogan could observe that Greece and Cyprus' alliance was paying off and that he could find himself faced with influential areas that would exclude Turkey from the Eastern Mediterranean.  Greece must weigh its alliances "without looking for a saviour".  It is essential that tension and friction should be strictly avoided, whether this concerns the European Union or the United States.  It should be known that the moment of truth concerning Turkey relationship with Greece would inevitably worsen during a crisis.  This is the time when you discover who are your real allies and political friends.


Meanwhile, shortly after Tayyip Erdogan's provocative statements against Greece, Athens replied with diplomatic power and high symbolism.  An agreement had been reached between Athens and Rome on dividing the Exclusive Economic Zones between the two countries, following a meeting between the Minister of Foreign  Affairs of Greece Mr Nikos Dendias and his Italian counterpart Mr Luigi de Mayo.


This meeting took place after solving the problems arising mainly from the Italian reservations about the restrictions of fishing in the Ionian Sea. In practice, this is an extension of the 1977 agreement on the continental shelf and shows the way for dissolving the problems and have answers on the part of Albania for debarkation. This was a blow for Turkey as Erdogan rejects that islands have continental shelves.


(Thanking ERT, SKAI TV Gr, BBC, France24, and Kathimerini and Estia for the valuable information for this post)

Greece and Italy