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Congress and the Pentagon are one thing, the Trump administration itself another. All are only concerned with Russia, less so the maniacs running Turkey.
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If the US pulled its nukes out of Turkey it would be more volatile with Turkey but as long as the US trusts an Islamist nation with the most powerful weapons on earth, you cant expect the US to have a strong opinion on anything Turkey does.Comment
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The Greek Defense Ministry said the French frigate Lafayette and the helicopter carrier Tonnerre held joint exercises with four Greek frigates Thursday in the eastern Mediterranean, including in areas Turkey is exploring. Two French Rafale fighter jets are making a stop Thursday at Souda, on Crete, after being previously deployed in Cyprus for an exercise.Mitsotakis warned of the “risk of an accident” in the area where the Greek and Turkish warships are gathered.
“In such a case, responsibility lies upon the one who gives rise to these circumstances,” he said. He added that Greece was not averse to “even the toughest dialogue,” but that “dialogue becomes irrelevant in a climate of tension and provocation.”
“We will never be the ones to escalate the situation. Yet, self-restraint is only one aspect of our power,” Mitsotakis said. “No provocation will ... go unanswered.”Comment
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Apparently Erdogan said that Turkey hit back at Greece after we attacked them. "They paid a high price?" - not sure what that means or if he was alluding to the incident of the frigates and he retaliated.Comment
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News circulating from turk sources that turkey jammed the communications between Greek ships (personally I am not buying it) and erdogan did indeed say there are other ways to get Greece in line. The guy keeps talking tough but won’t fire the first shot...Comment
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Νεότερη ενημέρωση αναφέρει πως η τουρκική φρεγάτα ΜΕΚΟ 200 έχει πάθει σοβαρές ζημιές.Comment
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A pro govn't newspaper published what Turkey must do in the event of war. The first thing they said was to occupy the 16 illegally militarized islands for security reasons (Rhodes, Chios, Lesbos, Kos). It seems like he has begun his endgame but he told the EU he wants peaceful dialogue but has military ships in the Aegean.Comment
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Looks like both sides want to play it down, but Erdogan drew attention to it. And as noted in the article I posted above:
Η φρεγάτα ΛΗΜΝΟΣ, σύμφωνα με πληφορορίες είχε βρεθεί δίπλα στο Oruc Reis τις τελευταίες ώρες, καθώς άλλαξε τα πλοία Νικηφόρος Φωκάς και Κανάρης, τα οποία ήταν τα πρώτα που έσπευσαν στο τουρκικό ερευνητικό όταν έπλεε πάνω από την ελληνική υφαλοκρηπίδα.Comment
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THERE IS little reason for Turkey to be surveying the continental shelf so far from its borders, when it hasn’t even surveyed waters closer to home. This makes the whole story appear to be muscling and brinkmanship designed to get European countries to intervene and come up with some sort of agreement. Turkey has done the same in Syria and Libya, intervening and making large claims, only to back down and come to some kind of ceasefire with Russia – or simply to stop moving forward.
It’s unclear where the clash or redline may occur in the Mediterranean, similar to redlines Turkey encountered in Syria’s Idlib or Sirte in Libya. It appears more likely that after a few weeks of crisis, Turkey may go back to do something else, having successfully caused a crisis and distraction for Europe, Greece, the US and others, only to move on to some other file that it has opened in Iraq, Libya, Syria or Russia.I think you're right Filikieteria1821.That is Ankara’s gamble in the Mediterranean as well: Force a crisis and see if it can get some portion of its demands without paying a price.Last edited by Don Giovanni; 08-13-2020, 06:06 PM.Comment
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Apparently Egypt is sending ships to participate in military exercises with France and Greece tomorrow.Comment
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Good, the Egyptians have a powerful navy.
It seems the Brits are starting to wake up to the realities of what is happening:
President Macron’s lightning visit to Lebanon after the Beirut explosion highlighted France’s increasingly active interventions around the Mediterranean. Yet few policymakers here seem to have taken on board the risk of a geopolitical explosion at sea between France and Turkey.
The two estranged NATO allies are jousting for influence and energy resources from Libya to Cyprus. France is sending out warships and fighters as the war of words between President Macron and his Turkish bête noire, Recep Erdogan, intensifies.
France is backing Greece and Cyprus with a show of force as Turkish warships escort a Turkish drilling ship into waters claimed by the two EU states. That Turkish exploration vessel is named in honour of the great Ottoman pirate and slaver, Oruc Reis, whose rampages ranged as far as the French coast from his Algerian base. The symbolism of its name is obvious. High summer ought to be holiday season around the Mediterranean but the buzzing of fighter jets increasingly disturbing.
Our Foreign Office provides travel advisories for danger zones, but its advice about Greek islands in the frontline in sight of the Turkish coast is about the marginal risk of Covid-19 not war. If Whitehall had given travel advice in August 1914, it probably wouldn’t have noticed the unusually busy trains on German railways heading towards Belgium. Post-Brexit Britain has its own problems with France over cross-Channel illegal migration, but President Macron is showing how an independent foreign policy might look.
Don’t let President Macron’s rhetoric about defending the European Union’s borders and sovereignty mislead you. The reality is that Greece and Cyprus are looking to France as a great power ally. The rest of the EU maybe good for a statement of support and even a threat of sanctions but when it comes to possible use of force only France counts. Paris has military power. Brussels has words. Britain still has two sovereign bases on Cyprus which is in the eye of the storm. Turkish troops still occupy the northern half of the island. Ankara remembers the crisis of 1974 when Turkey intervened in Cyprus. Britain remained passive despite being a guarantor of Cyprus and its constitution.
That was at the low point of our post-war decline. Yet today, Harold Wilson rather than Margaret Thatcher, let alone Winston Churchill, seems to be the guiding spirit of British policy towards the gathering storm in the Eastern Mediterranean. British expats and tourists in Cyprus might continue to enjoy a quiet life if the tensions lift, but there is little sign that London is alert to the risks to them and our military there.
Nonchalance in a crisis can be an impressive pose, but the lassitude gripping British foreign policy this mid-summer is a symptom of a deeper confusion in Whitehall about what this country’s role should be around the world post-Brexit. It is not a conscious retreat to a “Little England” outlook. That would be a policy. Instead passivity seems a substitute for knowing what Britain wants and how it can achieve that. President Macron may be stretching France’s resources thin but he is purposeful.Comment
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Whitehall is just about the most pro-Sunni office space in the West. They were anti Brexit, anti Tory and they will be pro-Turkish 100%.Comment
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This whole crisis in my opinion shows how much Greece needs to focus on making France its primary ally. We can no longer over extend ourselves for American, or EU support. America has been pro Turkish for 70 or so odd years and Germany is so entrenched in turkeys economy that believing they will do anything seems fruitless.
also, just read on Twitter that Turks are denying a Greek submarine heckled the oruc reiss.... which likely means it probably did happen.Comment
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From what I have seen, the big lesson (that of course the Greeks will fight not to learn) is they need an army capable of scaring the Turks. Greeks need to have an advanced army, navy and airforce. They should be lobbying for this money as part of an EU unbrella find for all EU border states.
Greece needs an army at least as powerful as Israels with generals of at least the standard of Armenia's army.
Just pause again for Armenia. Armenia invaded a large chunk of Azerbaijan with only 12,000 troops and controls the entire region protecting 100,000s of Christian Armenians. The planning and strategy is there.
Greece needs an army that brings fear. It is the only way. Greece needs a Lycourgos figure at the head of the military. And for FUCKS SAKES - GREEK WOMEN SHOULD HAVE TO DO THEIR SERVICE TOO. WHY THE FUCK SHOULD THEY SIT AROUND STUFFING THEIR FACES WITH KARIDOPITA CLAIMING EQUALITY OF THE SEXES WHILE GREEK MEN ARE SCRUBBING TOILET SEATS AND LEARNING HOW TO CARRY A GUN??
Finally, Greece should be a arms production hub. How it is not is mind blowing.Comment
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A snippet from the Telegraph comment section, made me smile:
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