Hakan Fidan assesses Turkey-Greece relations: 'The calm in the Aegean is very valuable right now'

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan made important statements during a live broadcast on Haber Global's "Neden Özel" program with Salih Nayman.

Key highlights from Minister Fidan's statements are as follows:

-From the moment the war began, we had issued our historical warnings. We were saying that this war would not remain contained here, that it would go further, and that it would cause fractures along fault lines. We see that this is continuing to increase moment by moment. As long as there is no confirmation from Hamas (regarding the news of Sinwar's death), it is not right for us to accept it.

-Gaza has unfortunately been turned into an open-air cemetery where tens of thousands of people have been subjected to genocide. It has become unlivable for people. 2 million people have been squeezed into a tiny space, struggling with hunger and thirst, and unfortunately, all of this is happening before the eyes of all humanity. The international system and law have become completely blind, silent, and deaf. The Netanyahu government's refusal to accept a ceasefire under any circumstances has brought about more losses. We had already predicted that Netanyahu would target every military objective he could for himself.

-In every deep, sensitive meeting, there are two aspects: what you think and what you say. In our conversation (with Nasrallah), my final assessment was that Hezbollah would not engage in a comprehensive attack, that it would only continue its military operations in Gaza, and my observation was that a second front would not be opened.

-We also knew that Israel's planning was aimed at eliminating those who posed a threat to it, starting with Hamas, then Hezbollah, and then the Houthis. Its attack on Lebanon was not a surprise to us. After October 7, the biggest concern for the first 3 weeks was that the war would not spread. We did not want a front to be opened, nor did we want the idea of 'let's focus on Gaza first and then turn to somewhere else,' but Israel appears to be doing whatever it has targeted.

-We are currently facing intertwined events. In one place, there is the Palestine-Gaza genocide; in another, there is Lebanon; and in another, there is the possibility of a war with Iran. All of them have separate dynamics. We are aware of all of them. First, even before this war, many states in the region had problems with Iran and its elements. It is a great misfortune that this issue has become intertwined with the Palestinian issue. When it came to Lebanon, they did not show that sensitivity. It is important to share our analyses, but more importantly, many states are in a position where they cannot take a stance. Turkey is making very serious warnings, giving messages, and sharing matters that are not appropriate to be declared.

-(On the possibility of war between Israel and Iran) We must evaluate this as a high probability. We need to be prepared for this as a country and a region. The spread of war in the region is not something we desire. With all our might, we have a significant focus on ending the war in our Middle Eastern geography, which has been subjected to occupation and destruction for the last 20 years. For the stability and security of the peoples of the region, there must be no war. If Iran exercises its legitimate self-defense, that is its right.

-The fundamental issue is not to leave the state and the nation facing any surprises. The second is to be in a position to respond when it comes. We can say that Turkey is at a high level in terms of predicting developments in the world, thanks to our capacity building and advanced moves in security and intelligence. When you do not face surprises, it is possible to prevent a crisis, or if you cannot, to ensure your country is not affected at all or to minimize it. It is important to place this within a grand strategy and to manage it without giving the public a sense of emergency. All political and technological developments point to more division and polarization. There are also parties that express reasonable views. Under the leadership of our President, we are focused on reflecting our own nation's stance both to the region and to domestic politics, ensuring both stability and the interests of nations, as well as peace. Turkey has been in the middle of a ring of fire for 20 years and has managed to pass through it safely, rising like a monument. The actor on our border and slightly beyond in the region is also in search of more qualified cooperation.

-We are fighting against terrorism; we have no eyes on anyone's land, and they see this. We will continue to walk this path, but we are not alone in the world and the region. There are actors who want to focus on very different views. We want to observe all of this closely and continue on our way.

-The biggest problem in international relations is the problem of unpredictability, and it is increasing. Let's think of an extraordinary power matrix. Nation-states, newly developing technologies, and actors are within this, and they are emerging by further advancing their power; states that came into existence 20 years ago are more mature. Every power center is in pursuit of growing a little more and opening space for itself. When we look at all of them, artificial intelligence has entered this in the field of technology; what this tells us is that the international system, especially nation-states, feels the need to increase their regulations. They are in pursuit of creating more of a public security space.

-When considering who will dominate the international system, it is truly important where the China-US divide will head. It is important what kind of relationship platform it will offer in its own camp. We have various assessments. The US is a very good country at managing alliances. China, on the other hand, does not currently have a type of relationship that could set an example in this regard. We will see what kind of stance it will take in the political field from now on, whether it will enter the military field. Will it use force? We will see. We see that it is entering political issues, especially in the Middle East.

-There is also an initiative by Brazil and China to come together and create peace in Ukraine. Will the China-US competition turn into a conflict? We will experience a process where both sides will show that they will not take a step back in this regard. Remember the beginning of the Second World War. Here, too, China will not take a step back. Taiwan will be a serious test subject. Both sides will reach a point of compromise or freezing. I think the world will focus on this point. Both sides are putting themselves under more protectionism. We also have assessments regarding how much damage will be caused. Our goal is to be affected by this international conflict at a minimum level.

-As a general foreign policy requirement, I am not in favor of sharing issues that have no results too much, but when the actions we have taken are taken into account, the US should understand this: the message we always give is to end support for terror; this is not in anyone's interest. We are now talking about these issues with the US. They are open to talking about Turkey's sensitivities in this direction, but we have assessments and contacts regarding when they will take action. Our wish is that the US, Europe, and the UK should abandon the form of supporting the organization. Turkey is not a country that says, 'The US is here, so I won't touch this.' As in Syria, we continue our operations against the PKK, independent of the US presence there.

-If you do not have the capability, you will be defeated in war and exploited in peace and cooperation. You have to define your own rights to the end and pursue them. At this point, one needs to understand the effort of our President in this field, who has dedicated the most valuable years of his life for years, and see that he has made Turkey a more active actor. People do not act with virtue here; nation-states act with realism. The more power you bring to the table, the more value the partnership you belong to gains. As we develop our power in the defense industry, this also increases our national power. Your weight is directly proportional to your weight in the platform you are in.

TURKEY-GREECE RELATIONS

-There is a search for normalization initiated at the leadership level with Greece. In all the governments managed by our President, whenever we found a suitable actor opposite us, we always gave a green light on how we could solve this problem. It has been a part of the vision in foreign policy. There was an election in Greece, and Mitsotakis also received public support. The two leaders sat down and looked at how we could solve this problem.

-I am in search of how we can solve this problem peacefully with my Greek counterpart. There are provocations from time to time, but we see that the main Greek policy is currently in a stance of not escalating tension by the Mitsotakis government. There is a pile of problems in front of us.

-For now, we see that there is the same approach on the Greek side as well. I hope our efforts will produce concrete results; that is our intention, both for the Turkish minority and for the problems in the Aegean and the Mediterranean. I am explaining my own observations very clearly. Our official stance is a separate issue, but I am also explaining our observations as a human being. We are not a country that defines its own politics through Greece; they are not our 'other.' Turkish politics has grown a lot, diversified a lot, and is in a position to look at much more important issues. We are at a point of thinking from a more global, wider perspective. We have issues in the Black Sea, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific; we are trying to manage them all simultaneously. Their situation with us has formed their politics. Greece's foreign policy has essentially always been about Turkey. How can we advance this with more peaceful methods? There is a war in the Black Sea right now, and the calm in the Aegean is very valuable right now.

-I have always seen and been saddened. Criticism is indispensable. If the government is hiding something, the press and the opposition will find it and show it to the public. When you go into disinformation, the event evolves into another dimension. Most of the time, there is no basis for it; it is said 'it is like this' without any reference point as to where or what was given. In national matters, foreign policy issues are serious business; they are not to be joked about. This should be approached with care. People have to know their limits in this field. Expressing an unsubstantiated issue in this way is, first and foremost, an insult to the labor of hundreds of thousands of people.

"YOU CANNOT STRENGTHEN NATO BY WEAKENING TURKEY"

-(Eurofighter process) This is an issue we follow systematically. There are covert or overt sanctions against Turkey. We keep a list of these and manage them sensitively. I set goals for myself. Just as you said, during the process of including Sweden and Finland in NATO, there was something our President put forward. Turkey is in favor of NATO's strengthening, but you cannot strengthen it by weakening Turkey. We need to make serious progress in the defense industry. They imposed restrictions on Turkey. Since 2017, there have been attitudes and sanctions taken in cross-border operations. At the point we have reached, we have gotten rid of almost all of them.

-In the assessment we made regarding the Eurofighter, there were evaluations that it would be the aircraft set we use. We have a demand that we have put forward. 3 countries are positive on this issue. The UK played an active role in this regard. Especially in the systematic contacts made by our President, he brought this issue to the agenda. It was a few weeks ago when my British counterpart called, he stated that there was an important development on this issue, and the Germans also seem to be taking a positive step regarding a development on this issue. If the vein is blocked here, we need to look elsewhere; defense and national security are not issues where we can lose time.

-We are making our assessments regarding the countries that have demands, according to the weapons and the countries they will go to; we are working very closely with the Ministry of Defense. We are acting responsibly, and we are acting in accordance with our national security.

-We told them that we are interested in BRICS. Something like a membership acceptance mechanism is subject to conditions. You express an intention. After this declaration, when you look at the current BRICS mechanism, they invite you to be either a partner country or a member country, and then you decide. There is such a process here. BRICS is currently a platform where 11 countries are members. We see that more than twice that number of countries have applied to enter here; we are following it closely, we have contacts regarding this, and we are also looking at what the growth strategy will be from now on. We will see what kind of added value it will produce and what kind of economic plan it has. All of them are already members of other economic platforms.

-Interest in BRICS has increased in an equation where economic partnerships have increased from now on. There is a lot of interest there; we will all see together how BRICS will manage this.

-Strong political leadership is something hard to win. You can know many things, and you can also have talent. But if it is not a matter of realization of leadership, it does not happen in real life either. For political leadership, you need to spend long years without counting or calculating on the problems you focus on and the issues you serve, and you need to give all your attention and energy.

-Tomorrow, we have a gathering in the South Caucasus Format, which we call the 3+3 format, in Istanbul. Russia, Iran, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey. Georgia is also invited, but I don't think they will be able to attend. We will come together in Istanbul as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.