The discussion that opened in Athens after the handshake of the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on the sidelines of the World Cup did not go unnoticed in Ankara.
Athens is certainly watching the moves of its allies. Especially when it comes to Turkey. Yet it does not seem - and rightly so - to be in a panic.
Certainty
In the Foreign Ministry and the Maximou building, it is more than clear that Turkey-Egypt relations cannot remain frozen indefinitely. There are many reasons and factors that will sooner or later impose normalization in their own way. Both economic and geopolitical.
What also divides Egypt and Turkey are extremely important and even in a process of normalization of relations one cannot overlook them. With the relations between Erdogan and the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as Ankara's role in Libya and the attempt to turn the country into a protectorate of Turkey, they cannot go unnoticed by Cairo as they concern vital interests of its government.
Greece-Egypt ties
At the same time, Egypt, with its eyes on the EU, has chosen to move towards a strategic relationship with Greece. After all, it is Cairo's decision to sign a maritime delimitation agreement in 2020 with Athens, in the midst of the Orut Reyes crisis and while Greece and Turkey were one breath away from a "hot incident", that "cut" the 2019 Turkish-Colombian memorandum in half. With cooperation reaffirmed in the new search and rescue agreement, Greece-Egypt.
Sukri is the Foreign Minister who has directly called on the UN and EU to take action against the Tripoli government, demanding that Libya be taken to elections to elect a government representing the whole country. Free from foreign guardians.
With Athens finding in Cairo the mediator it needs in order not to lose its voice at the international tables that are being set for Libya and is still blocked.
Foreign Ministry officials reiterate - as they did in the past in the case of the Israel-Turkey rapprochement - that it is a mistake to try to interpret Greece's alliances through these countries' relations with Ankara.
They argue that Athens' relations are not based on these countries' non-relations with Ankara and note the agreements that have been signed, the synergies and Greece's policy in the region as a factor of stability.
And interests
And as experienced diplomats note, it should not be forgotten that in diplomacy what matters for the strength of ties between states and their cooperation are the common interests they develop.
At the same time, the literature that developed in Greece around the Erdogan-Sisi handshake was reflected in articles in the Turkish press, such as this one in Houriet. Reports that talk about a roadmap regarding Egypt-Turkey relations and their normalization, noting that Athens' influence will be reduced
With the only rule in diplomatic relations remaining that states have no lasting friendships or lasting enmities, only lasting interests.
Source: in.gr
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