"Turkey[/B] has suspended bilateral negotiations in the framework of the High Level Strategic Dialogue with Greece.[/B] Thus, Ankara turned up the heat in the hitherto "cold" conflict with Athens over some Greek islands in the eastern Aegean, for which Turkey is demanding their immediate demilitarization."
The above is reported in an opinion article in the online version of the newspaper "ROSSISKAYA GAZETA" entitled "Turkey will turn the conflict with Greece into a 'hot incident'.
The article in detail
In the context of the increasing Greek-Turkish escalation, the long-standing territorial dispute between the two NATO member states may at any moment turn into a hot confrontation.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Ankara's withdrawal from the bilateral High-Level Strategic Dialogue with Greece, accusing Athens of not "learning from history".
Just the next day, the Chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP) of the largest opposition party, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, effectively endorsed Erdogan's course towards Greece. "If you have the courage, take a step towards the occupied and militarized islands. We will support you. It is imperative to step up pressure in the Mediterranean and the Aegean," the CHP leader said.
Thus, there is consensus among the main Turkish political forces on the need to take decisive action to defend Turkey's national interests (reconfiguration of the existing maritime borders, extension of the country's exclusive economic zone and continental shelf) in the Eastern Mediterranean region.
According to expert assessments, Ankara has both military capabilities and accumulated combat experience due to its recent involvement in high-intensity military conflicts in the Middle East, North Africa and the South Caucasus.
On the other hand, time is clearly working in favour of Greece, which, with an eye clearly on its troubled neighbour, is implementing large-scale modernisation programmes in its Air Force and Navy, buying from France modern Rafale fighters and Belharra guided missile frigates.
In addition, the government of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, according to media reports, has reached an agreement with Washington for the supply of US fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets as part of the "swap" for the land Greece is providing for the creation of five new US military bases.
Incidentally, it is precisely the unprecedented expansion of the US military presence in Greece that raises the question in Ankara: "Against whom are Americans and Greeks friends?" For Turkey, which seeks to pursue an independent foreign policy independent of the whims of the White House, the answer is obvious.
Athens is persuading its European and American allies not to sell new weapons to the Turks and not to modernize existing ones. Most importantly, Ankara should not return to the program to produce US F-35 fighters, from which the US had previously excluded Turkey due to its purchase of the latest Russian S-400 air defense systems.
Over time, the existing military-technical advantage of Turkey, which has the second largest military in NATO after the US, over its western neighbor may be annihilated. Especially considering that Turkey's military aviation fleet is rapidly becoming obsolete.
In this context, the number of violations of Greek airspace by Turkish aircraft has been steadily increasing in recent weeks. Athens, according to the Greek media, has put its armed forces on full alert."
Source: in.gr
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