Hooray!.. Greece Won't Block the F-16s...

The news that would demonstrate our success in foreign policy and lift our spirits came the day before yesterday from Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis. While announcing the good news that visa facilitation for Turkish tourists to 10 islands would begin in March, Mitsotakis said, “I believe this agreement will be permanent.”

As is known, a new era was initiated with Greece following the February 7 earthquake and the elections in May. Erdoğan, who met with Mitsotakis for the first time at the NATO Summit in July, stated that he had spoken very openly and clearly with Mitsotakis about our most vital issue, the occupation and militarization of our islands in the Aegean, and emphasized that the problem did not stem solely from Greece, but that the US was also constantly provoking it.

Before his visit to Greece on December 7, he also said, “When you call out from Turkey, that voice is heard from Kos Island. It is not right for two countries that are so close and so intertwined in terms of their history to continue with voices that fuel hostility.” He also complained that the US, which he noted was making efforts to pit the two countries against each other, was sending F-16s and ammunition to Greece while not providing them to us.

Erdoğan's Athens trip resulted in the signing of the “Declaration of Friendly Relations and Good Neighborliness,” which has no legal binding, and in this context, the promise of providing visa facilitation for us Turks to visit 10 islands.

WHAT DOES “GREEK SOVEREIGNTY” MEAN ON THE ISLANDS?

We have pointed out Erdoğan's discomfort with Greece leaning on the US. The reason for his 2022 retort, “There is no one named Mitsotakis for me anymore,” was Mitsotakis complaining about Turkey at the White House and the US Senate.

As is known, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken came to Istanbul last weekend, met with Erdoğan and Hakan Fidan, and then went to Greece to meet with Mitsotakis. The place they met was the island of Crete, which, in Mitsotakis's words, is a symbol of the depth of the strategic partnership between the two countries. According to information provided by the Greek Prime Minister's office, Mitsotakis and Blinken discussed the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean as well as new steps in defense cooperation, in addition to the issues of Gaza and Ukraine. Mitsotakis repeated his well-known views.

A clearer statement came from Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis, who is said to be a close friend of Hakan Fidan. While Blinken was still in Istanbul, Gerapetritis said the following:

“I would like to tell you that both the sovereignty and the prosperity [of Greek citizens living on the border] will never be open to discussion. We are working day and night so that Greek citizens, especially those living on the border, can feel safe... We are not after war or hostility... We are tolerant people, we want to live in peace, but we also want to ensure our absolute defense security... A sovereignty issue has never been brought to the agenda by Turkey. I often hear discussions about demilitarization or gray zones. We did not discuss this; but such a subject has never been brought to my attention, and I assure you categorically and definitively that I would not have allowed it to be brought to the agenda... Greece will not concede even a millimeter of the rights it possesses. I am saying it very clearly; we will never discuss sovereignty.”

Look at this defiance... But no one in Ankara heard it!..

THE MESSAGE GIVEN FROM LEMNOS

Let's look at Defense Minister Dendias, known for his hawkish stance against Turkey. On the first day of the new year, during his visit to the military unit on the island of Lemnos, he emphasized its strategic location for the defense of Greece and its rights in the Aegean Sea, while pointing out that Lemnos ensured Greek sovereignty in the Aegean during the January 5 Naval Battle and the Balkan Wars.

What Dendias recalled as “January 5” was the Battle of Lemnos 111 years ago, in 1913, the final naval engagement of the First Balkan War, which they won against the Ottoman Navy and which strengthened Greece's dominance in the Aegean. We know what happened 5 years after this; the Armistice of Mudros, which effectively ended the Ottoman Empire, was signed.

You can see what historical calculations these people are busy with while our side sings songs of peace!..

One more note from Dendias:

The Ministry of Defense included a project for 1,400 homes for soldiers nationwide in its 2024 budget and announced that 500 of them would be built on the Aegean islands in the first phase.

Presumably, this includes our islands that they have occupied and militarized. But let's not say, “Does Ankara even care?”; look, nothing was asked of Greece regarding “sovereignty, demilitarization, and gray zones”!..

At this rate, let's not be surprised if in the near future we even have to rely on Greece's grace of visa facilitation to visit our own islands.

MITSOTAKIS SAID “WE WON'T BLOCK,” BUT

Returning to the statements made by Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis three days after his meeting with US Secretary of State Blinken; while our media highlighted the visa good news, they reported that he said the following regarding Turkey's purchase of F-16s from the US:

“We are neither trying to block this nor do we have the means to influence the sale of defense equipment to another country.”

However, there was a continuation of those words that was ignored and unheard, and it was as follows:

“The point we have expressed many times is very clear: in an alliance, defense materials, in this case aircraft, cannot be used for flights over Greek islands, for example.”

It is the same as one of the three conditions put forward by senators in appearance, and by the US in reality, for the F-16 sale. The others are the cessation of operations in Syria and Sweden's NATO membership!..

IF THE SWEDEN BUSINESS IS DONE?

Speaking of “Sweden's NATO membership”; the Ankara representative of the government's flagship newspaper, Sabah, wrote the following yesterday:

“Coordination efforts with the US regarding the F-16 package are continuing. Accordingly, after the protocol for Sweden's accession to NATO is approved in the Turkish Grand National Assembly, the US Department of State will send the letter regarding the F-16 sale to Congress. After US President Biden's 'approval-seeking' letter reaches Congress, a 15-day 'silent period' will begin as required by the US system. In other words, if no objection is raised, the political obstacle to the sale will be removed.”

What kind of “coordination” is this; the Parliament will approve Sweden's membership, and the US side will only then please send letters to Congress!..

If what is written is true, it is understood why Blinken's visit was quite productive (!) and why no statement was made by Ankara.

Let's assume; Sweden's NATO membership and the fact that the F-16s will not be used against Greece have been accepted... So what will happen with the condition for operations in Syria?!..

Still, let's not lose heart; isn't Mitsotakis's favor of visa facilitation for the islands enough for us?!