Turkey

[Don Giovanni]

The Turkish lira has crashed to a record low – at time of publication it was 7.24 liras to the U.S. Dollar. Turkey’s three largest banks, Garanti, Akbank and İşbank are on the verge of bankruptcy, according to New Economy.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias told Real Radio that “we will not follow Turkey downhill.”

“Unfortunately, we are in a climate in which Turkey is not responding to the friendly hand that our country is constantly leaning on,” Dendias said. “We have an obligation to defend our national interests, our national sovereignty and not to allow Turkey to lead our relations to such an escalation that we can militarize any dispute.”

“We are not going to militarise the crisis with Turkey. It is the trap that Turkey is setting for Greece: to move from the stage of law to the stage of actions of this kind. The militarisation of differences with Turkey will not lead to a solution, it will lead to a deterioration,” the Foreign Minister said, but stressed that” Greece retains all the rights to defend its national space.”

Dendias also stated that Greece is in negotiations on the delimitation of the Economic Exclusion Zone with Italy and Egypt, and at some point soon the relevant discussions with Cyprus and Albania will begin.

Everyone but Libya though, and that's the concerning one. Here's how the map should appear, but Turkey has never signed onto that law based on the fact they hold almost nothing by comparison to Greece and Cyprus.

[Don Giovanni]

FaceBook now has a committee to run their censorship of conservative voices. One of the people on the board is a Muslim Brotherhood and Arab Spring activist:

Nobel Laureate Tawakkol Karman, the Yemeni woman who became one of the faces of the Arab Spring uprising in 2011.

Karman’s activism includes supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist organization that has been blamed for terrorist attacks.

Karman previously denounced arrests of Muslim Brotherhood members and opposed the move to bar the Muslim Brotherhood from participating in Egyptian politics.

In Yemen, the Muslim Brotherhood is led by Abdul Majeed al-Zindani, a Sunni Islamist viewed by the United States as a “Bin Laden loyalist” and someone who is listed as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” by the US Treasury Department.

No doubt Karman’s tolerance for allowing criticism of Islam on Facebook’s platform will be in short supply.

Sarraj's government is the product of the Arab Spring and is part of the Muslim Brotherhood movement. They're Islamists with sympathies to al-Qaeda. These groups are suppose to be enemies to the US, but apparently we are allied with them. Makes you wonder. On top of that, Zuckerberg's wife is a Chinese national. He's literally in bed with the ChiComs. The two biggest threats facing freedom loving people around the world are the Islamists and Communists, and FaceBook is in bed with them to help decided which content is permitted on their ubiquitous platform.

This should help the Turks and their propaganda war. I hope it wakes up a lot of Greeks to what many of us here have been warning about for some years now.

[Filikieteria1821]

Turkish forces have apparently invaded a small piece of land on the evros border

https://www.defence-point.gr/news/vretaniki-sun-toyrkoi-stratiotes-eisevalan-stin-ellada-ston-evro

Βρετανική Sun: Τούρκοι στρατιώτες εισέβαλαν στην Ελλάδα στον Έβρο

newsroom | 22/05/2020 15:24

8 SHARES

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“Περίπου 35 Τούρκοι στρατιώτες κινήθηκαν στο πλημμυρισμένο τμήματα στην ανατολική όχθη του Έβρου στο Μελισσοκομείο. Οι Τούρκοι εισέβαλαν χθες στο ελληνικό έδαφος και κατέλαβαν το μικρό αυτό τμήμα εδάφους. Τούρκοι των ειδικών δυνάμεων στρατοπέδευσαν εκεί υψώνοντας και την σημαία τους σε ένα δέντρο αγνοώντας την ελληνική απαίτηση να αποχωρήσουν”.

Αυτά αναφέρει η βρετανική εφημερίδα Sun, μεταφέροντας στο εξωτερικό μια διάσταση κάθε άλλο παρά τιμητική για τη χώρα μας, ειδικά καθώς εδώ γίνεται προσπάθεια “πνιξίματος” του συμβάντος. “Ο ποταμός Έβρος αλλάζει συχνά πορεία αφήνοντας σημεία εδάφους, ανατολικά του ποταμού, που ανήκουν στην Ελλάδα και άλλα, δυτικά, που ανήκουν, τεχνικά στην Τουρκία”, αναφέρει η βρετανική εφημερίδα.
“Πάντως η εισβολή έγινε ως απάντηση στους Έλληνες που σχεδίαζαν να κατασκευάσουν εκεί συνοριακό φράχτη. Στην Τουρκία βρίσκονται αυτή την στιγμή 4 εκ. πρόσφυγες και μερικές εβδομάδες πριν είχαν συγκεντρωθεί στα σύνορα περί τους 10.000 προσπαθώντας να περάσουν τον ποταμό.

“Τον Μάρτιο, κατόπιν ελληνικού αιτήματος, η Βουλγαρία άνοιξε τη ροή του φράγματος του Ivaylovgrad αυξάνοντας τα ύδατα του ποταμού Έβρου και δυσκολεύοντας το πέρασμα… Οι τουρκικές προκλήσεις κατά της Ελλάδας έχουν κλιμακωθεί από την Τουρκία του Ερντογάν. Τέσσερις φορές τις τελευταίες εβδομάδες Έλληνες και Γερμανοί της Frontex έχουν δεχθεί πυρά και τουρκικό F-16 παραβιάζουν καθημερινά τον ελληνικό εναέριο χώρο. Η Ελλάδα επιδιώκει αποκλιμάκωση μέσω διπλωματικών διαύλων και δεν έχει ακόμα απαντήσει στην τουρκική εισβολή”…

And we're here waiting for what exactly?

[Reaper]

The first of many.. As I stated, as long as Athens (formerly Poli) is safe - the rest of the empire can go whistle.

[Filikieteria1821]

I know this is never going to happen - and I do not profess to be an expert on evros river, but if turkey refuses to move off of the portion of land they've put their flag up on, then what's stopping Greece doing the same on another portion of the evros river controlled by turkey?

It is 2020 and we are witnessing turkey land grabbing from Syria, Libya, Cyprus and Greece. When is Greece going to say enough is enough?

I'm tired of seeing this shit everyday

[Don Giovanni]

It doesn't seem we know when it's time to fight until we get walloped in the face.

[Reaper]

When is Greece going to say enough is enough?

Honestly? When the Turks are marching down Syngrou Avenue - there will be plenty of outrage. Until then - Greeks will be more concerned other issues such as Tsipras's opinions on things. Byzantines had the same mentality.

[Reaper]

Not good. International press have the story. World will now see Greece do nothing.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...reek-land.html

[Don Giovanni]

Our government called it fake news.

https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/05/2...bit-of-greece/

[Filikieteria1821]

Highly encourage people to watch this interview - sheds light on the turkish pscyhe and how greece is failing miserably at the face of increased turkish pressure

[Don Giovanni]

https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/05/2...r-coronavirus/

In an interview with DIM TV in Turkey, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu {said}

“There were refugees in the camps who went to the border with Greece. Due to the pandemic, this stopped. I am not saying this as a threat, but after the pandemic, the refugees will definitely want to leave and go there.”

[Reaper]

Highly encourage people to watch this interview - sheds light on the turkish pscyhe and how greece is failing miserably at the face of increased turkish pressure

Interesting. I believe this man is 100% part of the problem and he even admits that in parts. He also let the mask slip and betrayed his left wing political allegiance by being positive over the Prespa agreement.

He describes problems but seems lost in finding solutions besides the 'sink them' strategy that I agree with.

I do not believe Greece did not enter Syria or Libya because of lack of international support as he suggests. This is the exact Dora defeatist mentality and strategy, the: 'we cant do anything because others wont let us' nonsense. Greece did not enter Syria or Libya because it did not want to. It did not force itself into the Berlin conference because it did not want to. Nothing to do with other countries.

As for the arms industry - it is absurd that Greece has no arms industry. Greece should be inviting contractors over. It is not encouraging its arms inustry - because that would weaken Turkey and as I often state - everything the Greek government does is to aid Turkey's expansion but at a very slow rate so as not to scare the Greek electorate. A few angry Greek letters complaining about Turkey to the EU is all the Greek electorate needs to believe that the Greek Government is not actively engaging in a strategy of managed decline.

Greece has no strategy other than let Turkey expand - but very slowly. Turkey can have an EEZ here - some rocks in the Aegean there - a bit of Evros here.. but nothing major and nothing fast. Greece acts like a submissive Christian majority town in the ottoman empire. Lots of anger but mostly lots of submission and compromise. Greece is still not a sovereign nation and Turkey and the EU know it.

The most frightening thing however was the host. No idea about Neo Ottomanism, no understanding how a country has to create a position - everything is about the US or NATO.. again - Greece is just an innocent raft adrift on the river of international politics..

[Don Giovanni]

The Turks sent out ships under the guise of a military exercise and have stated they will explore for oil within 3-4 months. Apparently, there are more Turkish vessles off the coast of Libya than there are EU boats! Operation Irini is a complete joke. The EU and NATO are proving they don't have our backs. The US doesn't have our backs.

Libya is claiming maritime rights that belong to us. So are the Turks. So what are we waiting for? The day the Turks decide to shut the gas and oil off?

https://www.rudaw.net/english/analysis/07052020

When Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wanted to threaten the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) days before its planned independence referendum in September 2017, he only needed to remind the Kurds that their treasured oil revenue reaches the market via Turkish territory. “We have the tap. The moment we close the tap, then it’s done,” Erdogan said at the time.

With the completion of the TurkStream pipeline, Erdogan now holds a similar political and economic trump card which he can use at will to turn the pressure on and off on Europe.

We can't allow Turkey this level of influence. We must contain them and we need to get others on board with that reality.

[Reaper]

Irini suited everyone.

Suited the Turks because it is meaningless and wont stop them doing anything.

Suited Merkel because she tricks the EU into thinking the EU is attempting to control something.

Suited the Italians because they lead the thing and can brag.

Suited the Greek politicians because it tricked the electorate into thinking it would help secure Haftar after the humiliation of the Berlin Conference.


The Cypriots complained and complained but in the end let the turks drill off their coast. I suspect the Greeks will use the same tactics - except more complaining..

[Filikieteria1821]

Well Greece has 3-4 months to get its military in war shape because right now its very simple:

you either let the turks invade your territorial seas, or you threaten casus beli or flat out warn them that you will attack their vessels.

No more games at this point - this is where we find out if we are going to be a free country.

Also, and I don't expect much of this but Egypt has announced an anti-turkish alliance which includes egypt, greece, cyprus, france and the UAE.

[Reaper]

So Turkey preparing to drill on the Greek continental shelf. Greece's plan to counter this? To go full Dora Bakoyannis - send many letters of complaint - so many, no one can keep count! Turkey will be relieved Greece is once again perusing this inane strategy.

Greece will write to the UN Security council to bitch and complain..
Greece will write to other EU leaders to bitch and complain..
Greece will write to the UN secretary general to bitch and complain..
Greece will probably write again (second time this year) to the UN General Assembly to bitch and complain..
Greece will write to the NATO secretary General.. to bitch and complain..
And yet again - to the EU council of foreign ministers...

By the time Greece has finished this diplomatic nonsense - the UN and the EU will need knew shredding machines..

There is no point in history these letters have ever worked. They have actually had the opposite effect and manage to irritate the UN, NATO and EU severely - however the fact they are being sent usually manages to convince the Greek electorate that the Greek elite political class did its best not to lose Greek land/sea before it was inevitably lost..