“Nationalists,” speak up; what is this buildup for?

The Greek port city of Alexandroupoli is only 40 kilometers away from our country. In other words, it is right on the edge of our Thrace. For this reason, the Treaty of Lausanne stipulated that this area should be demilitarized.

However, Greece did not just stop at arming the islands that were also supposed to be demilitarized and unarmed according to Lausanne, or even occupying islands belonging to Turkey; it also allowed the US to establish a base in Alexandroupoli.

The US buildup in Alexandroupoli began 4 years ago, in 2020. The matter only caught Erdoğan’s attention a year later, and only upon a question from journalists. What he said was:

“This is actually a planned program of America in Alexandroupoli that has been ongoing since 2014. Therefore, there is no abnormal development here. We are closely following this planned step they have taken. You already know the Greece-America relations, but we always do what is necessary on our part here. If it is a precaution, then it is a precaution. These are steps that are always taken or initiated for us anyway.”

However, those who were following the process were not as optimistic as Erdoğan and did not believe this was a planned exercise program. The violation of Lausanne was significant in itself. Beyond that, attention was drawn to dangers such as Greece involving the US in the Western Thrace issue, the monitoring of the Straits and the Aegean, and the reduction of the strategic value of the Straits by creating a new line via Alexandroupoli-Bulgaria-Romania.

HE ASKED BIDEN

Whatever happened, Erdoğan changed his mind 3 months later. He had gone to Italy for the G-20 Summit and met with US President Biden there. On the return flight, again upon a question from journalists, he explained the following this time:

“We mentioned this issue to both Mr. Biden and Macron. We said; ‘What is this Alexandroupoli incident? The establishment of such a base here seriously disturbs us and our people.’ Regarding this, Macron could not take ownership...”

Since Erdoğan did not convey the answer Biden gave to this question, we could not learn what the US is looking for in Alexandroupoli. However, just one week after this statement by Erdoğan, the then-Minister of Defense Hulusi Akar said the following:

“The US is not there against us. What we see right now is that these are developments for exercise purposes. We are following it.”

Following Akar, the Ministry of National Defense also emphasized that “the US is not moving toward a permanent deployment in the region” and made the following statement:

“These are rotational activities to contribute to European security by the US. There is no massive buildup in question. We are following the developments. There is no situation to be concerned about.”

While our officials were “following,” the following happened on the opposing front:

The US announced that it would transfer 120 attack helicopters, a thousand new vehicles, and 3 thousand personnel to the Port of Alexandroupoli to increase its military presence in Western Thrace within the scope of the 5-year defense agreement it signed with Greece.

The US Ambassador, who conducted inspections at the Port of Alexandroupoli for this purpose, stated that the largest military equipment in history would be brought here and provided the following information:

“While a portion of the military vehicles and personnel will remain in Western Thrace, a portion will be dispatched to Bulgaria, Romania, and other European countries by train and trucks. Since there is a railway connection between Bulgaria and Romania and Alexandroupoli, the Straits have now been bypassed.”

Although the same Ambassador said in a speech at a panel in Thessaloniki, “The partnership relationship between the US and Greece in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace does not pose a threat to Turkey,” the then-Foreign Minister, now-Minister of Defense Nikos Dendias, spoke as follows:

“We want an American military presence in our country; we have not hidden our desire to bring bases here. We want an American military presence in Alexandroupoli and at the Giannouli camp as well. It is important for Greece that this place turns into an energy hub for the Balkans. This is the issue that Erdoğan complained about to Biden and announced to the public. Yes, we do not want the Port of Alexandroupoli to be commercial, and this is exactly what disturbs Erdoğan.”

Prime Minister Mitsotakis, on the other hand, said the following openly:

“The US is expanding its presence in the Eastern Mediterranean, and our country is becoming the clearest partner and interlocutor of the US in the region... This agreement ceases to be a bilateral protocol and becomes a guarantee for Greece as a prudent European and NATO partner that guarantees international legitimacy against any kind of madness from our neighbors.”

NEW MASSIVE BUILDUP

Our Ministry of National Defense had said 2 years and 4 months ago, “There is no massive buildup in question.” Let’s look at what happened last week.

The US unloaded exactly 3 thousand more armored vehicles at the Port of Alexandroupoli. Along with these, it deployed 3 thousand 500 soldiers.

Photos of this massive buildup were published extensively both on the official website of the US military and in our media; but so far, not a single official from Ankara—including the opposition—has felt the need to open their mouth and ask what is happening in Alexandroupoli or explain it.

Of course; while we have a vital agenda such as a sweet(!) project like granting Turkish citizens the opportunity to visit Greek islands with a visa-on-arrival application, which was announced to start on February 1, then postponed to March 1, and finally announced to start on March 30, and which was planned to cover 10 islands but is currently planned for 5;

And even while Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis is coming to our country in May, what is the point of muddying the waters by talking about such an encirclement and spoiling the positive atmosphere achieved with the US and Greece, right?!