By Ahval
Greece and Turkey have never been closer to war than they are today, Yiannis Baboulias said in an analysis for Foreign Policy.
The two NATO allies, who went to war in the 20th century, are on the brink of military confrontation again, goaded by populist politicians on both sides of the Aegean Sea, saidBaboulias, an investigative journalist and writer of a book on Greek political movement Golden Dawn.
“Even amid this dangerous climate, both sides are indulging in reckless rhetoric,” he said. “In Turkey, Erdoğan and his party are embarking on ever more aggressive rhetoric toward Greece, and the largest opposition party is now headed by Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, a man who claims Turkey needs to reclaim 18 Turkish islands currently occupied by Greece.”
Political and military tensions between Greece and Turkey have increased after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called for the renegotiation of the 1923 treaty demarcating the countries’ borders and their navies and air forces jostled for contested islands near Turkey’s western coastline.
On Monday, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said that the Turkish coast guard had removed a Greek flag from an islet near the island of Fournoi, after it was placed there by three Greeks. The Greek general staff responded, saying that no Turkish boat had been seen in the area in the last 48 hours. The mayor of Fournoi visited the islet and said that the Greek flag was still there.
Monday’s incident follows a tragic accident last week in which a Greek pilot was killed after his plane crashed while returning to base from a mission to intercept Turkish fighters about 10 miles north of Skyros island, Baboulias said.
Independent Greeks leader Panos Kammenos, who is also minister of national defence, is making the situation all the more heated by making belligerent and even aggressive statements towards Turkey, he said.
