During his speech at the United States Congress, which almost made Turkey boo, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis seemed happy. What a pathetic situation. Evidently, he must have believed he impressed U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other senators, who gave him a standing ovation. Well, I wonder what he thought he would gain by creating a new crisis between Turkey and Greece when the two have managed to establish a de facto normalization process. Will Washington donate more weapons to Athens? Will he place them on the islands on Turkish shores, contrary to the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne and 1947 Paris Peace Treaties? Is there any room left to place weapons on the islands? Or will Cyprus organize a military operation to capture Nicosia (Lefkoşa) and unite the island?
No! Mitsotakis knows very well that none of this will happen. The only reason he is trying to scare the public with tales of "Turkish expansionism" in front of the cameras is that he is tasked with managing a country that has been mortgaged to the U.S. If he did not follow the path of fabricated stories and age-old fears, he would not be able to explain to the electorate the effort and energy with which he rushed to the U.S. to prevent Turkey from buying F-16 planes.
Indeed, Turkey is guarding NATO's dangerous southeastern border. Its neighbors are Iran, Iraq and Syria. It is also neighbor to Russia in the Black Sea. There is nothing more natural than to modernize its army, just like Greece, in accordance with international agreements. If there was not a sovereign, organized state like Turkey in this region, Greece would find the Middle East, whose peoples are moving massively to the West, right under its nose.
Mitsotakis, who cannot even convert the interest on foreign debt, is forced to play this game. Those who make leftist former Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras shout second-tier neo-Enosis (the incorporation of Cyprus into Greece) slogans are also playing the social democrat, “new generation” politician Mitsotakis in the palm of their hands. Because no matter who comes to power, they know that the country in economic crisis depends on the U.S. or its representative in the European Union, Germany, to save the day.
However, what the Greek people need is not a buildup of U.S. weapons in Alexandroupoli (Dedeağaç), the inflaming of the continental shelf debate – which only serves to harass fishermen in the Aegean – dogfights, the further deepening of the Cyprus crisis or a policy of tension. The country, just like Turkey, is facing increasing oil, rent and food prices.
There are, of course, extreme nationalists in Turkey, as in Greece. But these are small marginal circles. They have no influence on society, politics or the media. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s administration, which has been in power for 20 years, does not even have such an agenda.
In my opinion, Erdoğan's recent statement that "Mitsotakis no longer exists” to him stems from exasperation, not anger. This is because Turkey and Greece have common material interests in the Aegean and Mediterranean. If they do not take up arms against each other and act together when it comes to trade and energy issues, they will be revived. They will prosper as will their people
Erdoğan, who is targeted by the U.S. administration for following independent policies and protecting Turkey’s national interests, has this perspective and the ability to show willpower. He demonstrates this at every opportunity by sincerely extending his hand to Greek politicians.
Mitsotakis, on the other hand, shows that, like the others, he will continue to distract both his country and Turkey with artificial agendas. With his last move, he wiped out all hopes for himself. Doesn't Mitsotakis, who, “jokingly,” said “I don't get this much applause in Greece” in response to the applause in U.S. Congress, care how he will be remembered in history?
