Editorial To Vima: Tayyip Erdogan’s slippery slope

Since last May, when Prime Minster Kyriakos Mitsotakis delivered a major address to a Joint Session of the US Congress, in which he took a strong stand against the Russian invasion of Ukraine and stated clearly that Greece stands with the countries of the free world that defend democratic ideals and are opposed to authoritarian and revisionist leaderships, Turkey has consistently been unleashing bellicose rhetoric against Greece.

This high-pitch rhetoric and provocativeness have greatly escalated.

The entire Turkish leadership almost on a daily basis attacks our country and our people.

It depicts us all as opponents and enemies, and, what is worse, it mobilises against us Turkey’s opinion makers to engage in a barrage of anti-Greek pronouncements and nationalist hatred.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his associates for many months competed over who would employ the harshest and most aggressive rhetoric against us.

They attribute to Athens claims and intentions that Greece does not have. They say that we are an obstacle to Turkey’s growth, and they posit the outrageous argument that Greece and the US are designing the dissolution of the Turkish state!

Along with all that, they are threatening in a vulgar manner to “come at night” [to land on and occupy a Greek island].

They say that the islands of the Eastern Aegean belong to Turkey and that they have been ceded to Greece through treaties that Athens is violating. They present other frivolous claims that are not worthy of a response.

The question is what is motivating the Turkish leadership and what its objective are.

Does it truly want to attack Greece militarily, or simply to drag it into a comprehensive negotiation based on its demands from a position of power, after a controllable military clash?

Does its stance derive from confusion and impasses, or is there a deeper, strategic objective involved?

No one can say for sure. What is certain, however, is that Erdogan, who has ruled Turkey for two decades, has not reconciled himself to the prospect of losing power in next year’s elections.

It is obvious that he is under pressure domestically, and, what is worse, he carries grave political burdens and is responsible for unpardonable crimes

He is responsible for the persecution or exile of countless citizens. Many have been killed, and others have accumulated a passionate hatred of him.

Erdogan has not taken the trouble to prepare for his succession or to negotiate with his opponents.

Consequently, he is waging a battle for survival without measure, as if there is no tomorrow.

His foreign advisors have apparently encouraged him to create a bogeyman enemy that could mobilise his people, and they have told him that only stirring tensions with Greece can serve his purposes.

Meanwhile, because he is motivated by expansionism and the culture of Eastern bazaars, he has begun bargaining with everyone.

He sells and buys as he sees fit. He is moseying up to authoritarian leaders of the East, is playing with Putin, and is testing the Chinese, the Arabs, the Egyptians, and even the Israelis.

His shenanigans on the international stage have become infamous, especially the ease with which he engages in exchanges, sometimes with one interlocutor and at other times with another.

Over time, however, his perpetual bargaining has irreparably damaged his relations with his most critical allies.

Erdogan has now realised that the Americans do not trust him. The US House of Representatives and the Senate have literally written him off.

They believe that he has shifted, maintaining nearly hostile relations with the West, even as he plays ball with the East.

That is why he has been denied access to new, advanced fighter jets and weapons systems.

He realises that without easy access to new weapons systems, his forces and capabilities will be diminished.

What is worse, with the increasing significance of the capabilities of the new base at the Greek port city of Alexandroupolis, he is veering toward losing the advantage of the Bosphorus Straits.

All of these factors combined have put Erdogan in a very tight spot.

Moreover, because he is unpolished and megalomaniacal, he cannot acknowledge his errors, and instead blames Greece, as he believes that in this manner he can shape an environment of recognition that will allow him to rebound.

That is why he is dangerous.

Athens, however, bears no responsibility for his decline.

He must change.

Greece is obliged to maintain its composure, unity, and vigilance.

It is inconceivable for us to cede our sovereignty.

Our islands are being armed for the very simple reason that they are being threatened.