While the world watches the complicated war in Syria, much closer to European Union borders, Turkey and Greece have been squabbling over the Aegean, Cyprus and Thrace. As Erdogan gets bogged down in a Syrian offensive that’s not quite going the way he wants, he has turned his polemic rhetoric towards Greece and the European Union. Since the beginning of the year there have been major incidents near the disputed (since 1996) uninhabited Aegean islands of Imia (Greek) or Kardak (Turkish); captured on video is a Turkish coast guard vessel colliding with a stationary Greek patrol boat.
Furthermore, Turkey has blocked gas and oil exploration in Cyprus national waters. Turkish warships prevented a rig from reaching an area southeast of Cyprus where Italian company Eni was scheduled to carry out exploratory drilling. It is unclear how Turkey will engage American and French oil and gas companies scheduled to explore in Cyprus waters over the next few days, but it is believed the American 6th fleet has diverted ships to the area.
If all that wasn’t enough, four days ago Turkey arrested two Greek army officers who had inadvertently strayed into Turkish territory in Thrace. Usually these incidents are common and are resolved within 24 hours, but this time the two men were taken into custody and extradition requests by Greece have been rejected by Turkish courts (which are controlled by Erdogan). Greece is now considering the two men as hostages and is not expecting their release any time soon.
It is not only the current Turkish government that has threatened Greece and Cyprus. Turkish opposition leaders’ rhetoric against Greece has reached hysterics with the two top opposition leaders promising an invasion of Greece if they win the next election. The main opposition leader’s comments against Greece theduran.com/... have alarmed Greece and the EU. “You gave them these islands. I said these islands are ours, and the Greek defense minister came out and said "come and take them". And I told him that yes, I will come in 2019 and I will take them. As Ecevit took Cyprus, so will we take these islands.”
Skirmishes and rhetoric between Greece and Turkey are frequent and aim to stir up voters and win votes. However, the last few months the rhetoric has escalated to unseen levels since the 1974 invasion of Cyprus and the 1996 Imia/Kardak incidents. America, in both instances stepped in to diffuse the situation but with Trump in power, no one is expecting any interference from America to a possible Greco-Turkish war. Such a war would be devastating to Europe, and to NATO.
