“Niko” has come to “Constantinople”!..

There is no need to explain the meaning and importance of Istanbul for Greece and the Greeks, or its place in the “Megali Idea”. Suffice it to say that they do not call it “Istanbul” unless they are forced to, preferring instead to use the term “Constantinople” or “The City,” and that they prefer meetings with Turkey to be held in Istanbul rather than Ankara whenever possible.

In 2022, when Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis complained about Turkey to US President Biden, leading Erdoğan to declare, “For me, there is no longer anyone named Mitsotakis,” and to issue warnings that “We may come suddenly one night,” the Greek Minister of Defense was Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos, and our Minister of Defense was Hulusi Akar.

Before the Biden complaint, when relations between Erdoğan and Mitsotakis were good, the two Defense Ministers met at the NATO Summit in Brussels. In a statement regarding this meeting, Hulusi Akar recounted saying, “Let us solve the issues ourselves. I mean, if you cannot solve a problem yourself, others in the international arena start speaking on your behalf. Therefore, let us talk to solve our own business ourselves,” and noted the following:

‘You are welcome at your earliest convenience,’ we said. ‘Either you come to Istanbul or call me, and I will come to Athens.’ We have not yet received a response.”

One of the pro-government columnists, while reporting these statements by Akar under the headline “Niko, either you come or I will come,” added the information: “Actually, Minister Akar and Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos have a friendship. A rapport has formed between them... According to the information I have received, Minister Akar addresses his Greek counterpart by his first name.”

With such a beautiful (!) picture in place, it was, of course, not to be questioned why Hulusi Akar invited his Greek counterpart to Istanbul instead of Ankara!..

WHAT DID HE NOT SAY TO TURKEY

So, what did this “Niko” do after Erdoğan crossed Mitsotakis off his list?

He threatened Turkey, saying, “They should know that they will pay a heavy price in any negative situation. Our army is always on alert,” and claimed they had the full support of the EU, the US, and NATO...

After meeting with US Secretary of Defense Austin in Washington, he described that speech by Mitsotakis that angered Erdoğan as “historic,” and explained that the US base in Alexandroupoli “allows them to counter malicious actors and conduct exercises and operate in the Balkans, the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Black Sea region.” He alleged that Turkey had “revisionist” ambitions and that this posed a major threat to the interests of the US and NATO. Meanwhile, he complained to Austin about Turkey’s activities in the Aegean. Austin stated that he would “speak with Turkish Defense Minister Akar by phone in the coming days,” and a week later, he called Akar to request that “efforts to reduce tension in the Aegean through constructive dialogue continue”...

During a visit to the island of Kastellorizo (Meis), Niko referred to Akar’s 2021 remark, “There is the island of Meis, 1950 meters from Turkey. The swimming standard for a Naval Academy student is 2,000 meters; in other words, they can swim there,” and pointing to the Kaş district of Antalya, said, “What do you say? Should I jump into the sea and swim across to visit? It’s only 2 miles, let’s see what happens?” After Akar replied, “Well done... Looking at your recent provocative attitudes, we thought you had forgotten how to swim. If they continue with this mindset, knowing how to swim seems like it will be very useful to them,” he then spoke about Greece’s expansionism on one hand and “solution and dialogue” on the other...

There is more.

He announced that they would threaten Turkey with the armored vehicles they sent to Lesbos and Samos, saying, “Noisy neighbors prefer chatter.”...

He complained about Turkey to the then-NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg...

Ankara had forgotten all of this and turned a clean page when Greece extended a helping hand during the February 6 earthquakes; however, during the “Independence Day” ceremonies on March 25, which Greece won through a bloody rebellion against the Ottomans, Niko said that “they take courage and inspiration from the example of the heroes of 1821” and that they follow in the footsteps of Kolokotronis, the gang leader who played a leading role in that rebellion...

Just 10 days after these words, Niko came to Hatay upon the invitation of Hulusi Akar to conduct inspections.

HE ALSO DID THIS AS MINISTER OF MIGRATION AND ASYLUM

I happened to see it on the website of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople; Niko is now the Minister of Migration and Asylum.

According to the Patriarchate’s news, he came to Istanbul on Tuesday and was received by the “Ecumenical Patriarch.” The Greek Consul General in “The City,” Ambassador Konstantinos Koutras, was also present at the meeting, where current issues were discussed.

Naturally, I was curious about Niko’s statement regarding this visit. In a post on his social media account, I saw that he not only used the terms “Ecumenical Patriarchate” and “His All-Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch” but also referred to the Greek Consul General in Istanbul as the “Consul General of Constantinople.”

The reason for the visit was understood from his previous post.

It turns out he had come to Istanbul to attend a meeting organized to strengthen cooperation in the fight against illegal migration with Minister of Interior Ali Yerlikaya and Bulgaria’s interim Minister of Interior Atanas Ilkov, and after that, he visited “His All-Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch.”

Let us note that he used the term “Constantinople” for Istanbul again in his post regarding this meeting, and share another detail.

While the aforementioned meeting held in Dolmabahçe, Istanbul, was not reported at all, Minister of Interior Yerlikaya, who shares everything instantly, for some reason announced it 24 hours later, on Wednesday, without ever mentioning where it took place, as follows:

“We held our meeting with the Greek Minister of Migration and Asylum, Mr. Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos, and the Bulgarian Minister of Interior, Mr. Atanas Ilkov, with the main agenda items of ‘Irregular Migration’ and ‘Migrant Smuggling.’ We continue to manage migration in accordance with national and international law, human rights, and our civilizational values. We continue our fight against irregular migration and migrant smuggling organizers with determination. As Turkey, we have moved out of the ‘target for migration’ and ‘transit target for migration’ route. We have prevented the formation of a ‘pull factor’ towards our country. We attach great importance to cooperation with our neighbors in the fight against irregular migration. I would like to thank the Ministers who are in our country today to strengthen this cooperation.”

The Greek Minister considers Istanbul “Constantinople,” and our minister thanks him!..

Here is my point;

After MHP leader Bahçeli, a partner in the People’s Alliance, shocked Turkey by addressing the terrorist leader in Imralı, he finally brought up the arming of Aegean islands and the usurpation of the Dodecanese by Greece—which has even reached Datça and Bodrum with its gunboats—at this week’s MHP Parliamentary Group Meeting, saying, “I am stating clearly and as a warning that we do not even need to express what will happen if they appear before us again by being provoked by Western countries, as they were in the 1920s, and I advise the Athens administration to watch its step.”

Keep it up; hopefully, with this momentum, the time will come to show a reaction not only to the Patriarchate claiming to be “Ecumenical” in violation of the Treaty of Lausanne, but also to the official use of the title “Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch” and to those who turn this place into a thoroughfare calling Istanbul “Constantinople”!..

Müyesser YILDIZ

January 17, 2025