Editorial Ta Nea: Pragmatism in Greek-Turkish relations

One can easily see the aggressiveness and propaganda of Turkey.

It is truly provocative for Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar to boast that Turkish cadets can even swim to a Greek island.

It is indeed outrageous for a NATO member-state to threaten another member-state with war if the latter exercises a right that it has under international Law of the Sea.

Maintaining tensions does not contribute to dialogue or good neighbourly relations.

Nevertheless, one can invest in pragmatism.

Turkey’s casus belli (threat of war against Greece if Athens extends its territorial waters in the Aegean to 12nm under international law) is not new. Such an extension is also opposed by all major powers, as it would turn the Aegean into a Greek lake.

Despite its hostile rhetoric and daily threats, Turkey is not planning to land on any Greek island, as it knows there would be no winner and only losers.

Even if the Turkish foreign minister disputes the sovereignty of “militarised” Greek Aegean islands, and his Greek counterpart describes the Turkish government’s stance as the “epitome of irrationality, bilateral exploratory talks continue.

These talks must not cease, not in order to pretend to be in a dialogue, but rather because they are the only means to resolve the impasse.

The alternative to diplomacy spells disaster.