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Greece in panic as East Med balance serves Turkey
April 20, 2021Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, who received a warm reception in Turkey last week, engaged in a disturbing act of provocation during a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. Dendias single-handedly ruined the positive environment by propagating his country’s unilateral and maximalist arguments.
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, who received a warm reception in Turkey last week, engaged in a disturbing act of provocation during a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. Dendias single-handedly ruined the positive environment by propagating his country’s unilateral and maximalist arguments.
Among other things, Greece’s top diplomat accused the Turks of violating Greece's right to sovereignty before threatening European Union sanctions. He accused Turkey of exploiting the refugee crisis, claimed that the Turkish-Libyan maritime delimitation agreement was illegal and demanded that Turkey reverse its decision to reinstate the Hagia Sophia as a mosque.
Populism detected!
It is one thing to make such statements at the negotiating table or behind closed doors. The Greek foreign minister’s populist behavior, an obvious attempt to impress nationalist voters at home, established, without a shadow of a doubt, which country was being unreasonable.
The fact that Dendias threatened Ankara with EU sanctions, as if he was a spokesperson for the organization, was also disrespectful.
Çavuşoğlu naturally responded to his Greek counterpart’s accusations. In addition to rejecting
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