Erdogan's Hypocrisy: He Talks About Peace While Violating International Agreements
From Francesco De Palo
At least in words, Turkish President Erdogan is trying to reconcile with Greece, the European Union, and the United States of America, but with facts he continues with his behavior in violation of international agreements and United Nations norms.
"We need cooperation in the Mediterranean, we should not be excluded," Turkey says on the one hand to Brussels and with the objective of getting out of the corner of American sanctions for the S-400 missiles purchased from Russia.
But on the other hand, it does not take any steps back for gas in Cyprus and Kasteloriz, the Greek island, escalating tensions that are causing the rearmament of several countries, such as Greece and Egypt.
What do Greece and Turkey risk from the diplomatic and military crisis articulated in the energy dossier?
Why does Ankara continue to oppose international agreements?
As expected, the Turkish president does not accept the border redrawings in the Eastern Mediterranean that exclude him from exploiting the gas present in those waters and on which a new and broad cooperation between Greece, Cyprus, Israel and Egypt has been built thanks to the pipeline project that will bring the gas to Salento.
The latest attack bearing Erdogan's signature is that of January 11, at the same time as he extended an olive branch to European Union countries and Athens.
He stressed that Greece has used an international option like Navteks – a declaration of navigation restrictions – to increase tensions.
The knot to be resolved is the extension of Greek waters to 12 miles voted by the Greek parliament: a bureaucratic passage that once again adds fuel to the heated situation in the waters under which the gas so precious to Ankara is located, since the Turkish economy is still in difficulty.
Erdogan plays the role of a diplomat ready for talks, telling domestic news agencies that Turkey's exploratory dialogue with Greece could usher in a new era. He even says he is ready to mark a significant turning point in the country's relations with the European Union. But at the same time, he rejects efforts to keep Turkey on its shores with maximalist maps that have no value.
On the other hand, those maps have full validity, given to them by international treaties such as the Montego Bay Convention and the approval of the United Nations.
The Glass House, on the occasion of the last plenary session of the General Assembly, adopted the annual resolution on Oceans and the Law of the Sea. In the vote requested by Turkey, 152 countries voted in favor of the report, while 4 (Colombia, Madagascar, Nigeria and Venezuela) abstained. The only country that voted against was Turkey.
In addition to Erdogan's announcement of a possible open diplomatic roundtable with Athens, the Greek Foreign Ministry responded, saying that no meeting between the foreign ministers of Greece and Turkey, respectively Nikos Dendias and Mevlut Cavusoglu, had been "planned or agreed" for January 25.
The Greek Foreign Minister, although he has maintained a friendly relationship with his Turkish counterpart for years, "has neither planned nor agreed to a meeting."
The pressures on Ankara also affect the policies of the new US administration. From the effects on the entire African region of the Abraham Accords, which also affect Morocco, Turkey does not yet know how the White House's new strategy in the Mediterranean will unfold after the progressive disengagement in the nostrum mare that characterized the Trump presidency.
Erdogan fears that he will no longer be able to have the freedom of movement that has allowed him, for example, to continue attacking the Kurds in the Syrian square and to advance into positions in Libya, taking Italy's place. For this reason, too, he is focusing heavily on strengthening its defenses, as evidenced by the massive use of Turkish-made drones in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Therefore, defense is the third element that is characterizing the whole scenario with a real rearmament race. Greece has purchased 18 Rafale fighter jets from France for $3 billion, but is seeking the first six to arrive in the Aegean by May.
For this reason, the French Minister of Defense Florence Parly will travel to Athens: after the Rafale, Paris would like to sell 2 Fremm frigates to Greece. If they are proposed in the anti-submarine mode then the Greek government will say yes. On the contrary, four Belh @ rra could be evaluated, while the American option remains intact, which should not include the Arleigh Burke destroyer.
In the background there is also the possibility that some F-35s not sold to Turkey by the US will end up in Greece, where the alliance with Israel has been further strengthened: a 20-year agreement worth $1.68 billion between Greece and Israel will lead to the creation of an air force school for Greek military aviation.
