While the Greek exports to Turkey were down, the balance of Greek imports from Turkey during the same period amounted to $2.31 billion, compared to $1.88 billion in the first half of 2023, showing an increase of 22.8%.
An interview on the social and political dynamics in Turkey ahead of the May 14th election
Stagnancy simply entrenches the island’s de facto division and further alienates the Turkish Cypriot side, obviously with the responsibility of Ankara.
One hundred years ago the guns of war fell silent on Turkish soil. May their menacing thunder never be heard again.
Athanasiou, in a supposedly hypothetical example, said Muslim MPs in Greece’s Parliament could have their phones tapped on suspicion of espionage on Turkey’s behalf.
Erdogan believes that the leaders of Sweden and Finland can “commit themselves” to extradite Kurdish and Turkish expats granted asylum whom he accuses of terrorism.
Erdogan clearly indicated that he got what he wanted from the deal regarding Sweden and Finland, and that declared he would leave the summit with his 'hands full'.
if Turkey attempts to rock the boat, that will reveal NATO’s limits, endurance, power, and the extent it will tolerate Ankara’s linkage of NATO’s expansion to its own revisionism.
Turkey should be made to understand that the “gunboat diplomacy” of past eras has no place in the 21st century, Mr. Dendias noted.
Η Τουρκία επιθυμεί να μετονομαστεί το αγγλικό της όνομα να είναι Türkiye, αντί για Turkey.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed that the Ukrainians continually “renege” on points about which the two sides had agreed.
Russian ambassador to Athens Andrey Maslov has been summoned to the Greek foreign ministry tomorrow after the killing of six ethnic Greeks and the injury of six more in Russian bombings in Eastern Ukraine.
Big energy giants that were conducting research in the region in question began to pull out. Just last week, a consortium comprised of Total, ExxonMobil, and Hellenic Petroleum decided to freeze seismic research to the south and west of Crete.
The change in America’s intentions and priorities should come as no surprise. It confirms that despite some doubling back by Washington, geopolitical developments in our neighbourhood remain exceptionally fluid.
Putin and Mitsotakis are to adopt a 2022-2024 joint action plan which, according to Greek government sources, will determine the basic axes of bilateral cooperation over the coming years.
'Our countries are cooperating in air. With our energy projects, our countries are cooperating at sea. Today, I think we can also say that we’re cooperating on the ground,' said the Israeli PM.
Με την έλευση της καινοτομίας, οι αγγλόφωνοι καταναλωτές τουρκικών προϊόντων δεν θα μπερδεύουν πλέον το «Turkey» με τη «γαλοπούλα», γράφουν, διασκεδάζοντας την απόφαση Ερντογάν, οικονομικές ιστοσελίδες.
'You must understand what the Parthenon Marbles mean to us. They are our pride. They are our sacrifices. They are the supreme symbol of nobility,' Melina Mercouri once told British authorities.
Pompeo said he is enthusiastic about the recent US-Greece Mutual Defence Cooperation Agreement and that Turkey is undermining security in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Dendias touted the fact that even as the US adjusts its international presence it chose to remain in Greece, and he delicately confirmed that the Mutual Defence Cooperation Agreement (MDCA) has been renewed for five years and that thereafter it will be in effect indefinitely.
'Turkey is once again undermining stability in the Eastern Med, this time by violating the Republic of Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone. The US must stand with Cyprus, and the EU should also fully support the vital interests of one of its member states,' Menendez tweeted today.
The unsettling situation in the Eastern Mediterranean overshadowed yesterday’s Greek-Turkish exploratory talks in Ankara and further dashed hopes of reaching points of convergence on various critical issues.
Anastasiades stressed the Greek Cypriots’ want to share the wealth from gas deposits with the Turkish Cypriots and if Ankara recognises the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicosia would disburse funds to the Turkish Cypriot side even before a final settlement.
Ankara bases its objections on a 2019 MOU between Turkey and Libya (the government in Tripoli) on the delimitation of the two countries’ Exclusive Economic Zones, although they are not contiguous.
'If there is peace in Cyprus today, it is due to the presence of the Turkish armed forces. Otherwise, the bloodshed would have continued,' Tatar said, reiterating Ankara’s pretext for the 1974 invasion,
First of all, the permanent, age-old civil war in Afghanistan has not ended. Tribal leaders, generals, and warlords of the old regime are negotiating among themselves and with the Taliban – which itself is not a unified force – and no one can prejudge the results.
The talks were held one week after Erdogan’s declaration in occupied Cyprus that he will open about three percent of the Turkish-occupied ghost city of Varosha in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
EU summits over the last year have consistently postponed imposing sanctions against Turkey over its violations of international law in Cyprus’ EEZ, the Aegean, and the Eastern Mediterranean, ostensibly in an effort normalise Greek-Turkish relations.
Hellenism must pursue the broadest possible international mobilisation. It must seek greater EU involvement. It must utilise to the greatest possible extent US pressure on Turkey, and of course it must come up with new positions and proposals.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s strategic decision to visit occupied Cyprus on the anniversary and re-open part of the ghost city of Varosha constitutes a sharp escalation and provocation on Ankara’s part.
We must rise to the occasion and undertake persuasive initiatives. Essentially, we must choose between a solution that establishes a federation and the permanent partition of Cyprus.
It is obliged to point out omissions and delays in implementation and to stress the need to expedite the work of the committee on changes to school books – not to hide behind artful ruses.
To grab the opportunity Athens must bolster its economic, diplomatic, and defence forces in this extraordinary post-pandemic world. We are lacking in the economy, but we have an opportunity on the diplomatic chessboard.
"Over the decades Armenian immigrants have enriched the United States in countless ways, but they have never forgotten the tragic history ... We honor their story. We see that pain. We affirm the history.' Biden said.
We must work to create a world in which no human being is forced to leave his or her home. Until then we must remember that seeking asylum is not a lawless act. It is a right.
'This agreement is based on the consistent adherence by both countries to international law and the principle of resolving differences peacefully,' said Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias.
'The Trump administration must press Turkey to refrain from any further provocative actions in the region against Greece, including threats of force, to create the space for diplomacy to succeed,” Biden said.
'It is my firm hope that the underlying disputes between two allies can now be addressed purely though negotiations in the spirit of allied solidarity and international law,” Nato's chief said.
A Commission, spokesman said that, 'The departure constitutes another welcome step towards de-escalation ... and we hope for similar and further moves in this direction.'
German Chancellor Angela Merkel opposed harsher language against Turkey, presumably in order to facilitate Germany's role as mediator between Turkey and Greece.
In a break with US diplomatic custom that if a Secretary of State visits Greece he or she will also visit Turkey and vice versa, Pompeo decided to visit only Greece, a move viewed as a stern message to Ankara,
European Commission apresident Von der Leyen said that on both the Greek-Turkish and migration issues Greece and Cyprus can count on the EU’s absolute solidarity.
'We have the issue of security and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean which is not the affair of Greece and Cyprus alone but an EU issue,' Michel said
Only France is stepping forward to staunchly and with clear judgment support Greece’s just positions. Other EU countries, however, are not doing their part as their interests have led them to adopt a neutral stance.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has repeatedly declared that dialogue is inconceivable before Turkey withdraws its forces from the area. He clearly ruled out the concept of diplomacy at gunpoint.
In addition MED7 leaders urged Greece and Turkey to dialogue. The seven leaders led by Emmanuel Macron are not prepared to accept Turkish hegemony in the Mediterranean.
In any event the intensity and frequency of Turkish Aegean and Southeastern Mediterranean violations are annoying more and more international players.
Greece and governments all over the world hope that the vaccine will help manage the public health crisis and permit a gradual normalisation of social and economic life.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told Reuters the Western alliance was considering so-called deconfliction measures to prevent naval accidents in an increasingly congested region, although he did not go into details.
Before the decision to turn the museum of the Christian Basilica of Hagia Sophia into a mosque and yesterday’s NAVTEX (a navigational warning), since May, 2019, there were a series of provocative actions by Turkey
It is Mr. Erdogan’s commercial and military strategic alliance with Russia through which the Turkish leader has heaped scorn and contempt on Washington and NATO.
French President Emmanuel Macron issued a stern message to Turkey criticising its activity in Libya but other EU states are not on board and there is no solid EU front against Turkey.
It has become clear all these years that Greece’s decision not to fully exercise its rights under international law has to this day failed to limit Turkey’s provocations.
In the pre-coronavirus period he unsuccessfully tried to open many fronts at once but did not achieve the victories that as self-styled sultan he very much desired.
The Turkish leadership went as far as to liken the situation at the border to the plight of the Jews during the Holocaust. This disrespected the memory of the millions brutally murdered by the Nazis.
'In the last 10 days we have shown that we can defend our national and European sovereignty. Greece and Europe cannot be blackmailed by anyone,' the PM told the German-Hellenic Economic Forum.
Erdogan appeared unimpressed by what the EU was offering so far, saying the Union was always offering help but then falling short or not stepping up.
“Why did he (Erdogan) do this to us if he knew Greece won’t let us cross?” she asked, sitting on a rug near a pile of bags full of clothes and diapers for her sons, aged 13 and 7.
Officials in Brussels are reportedly enraged with Erdogan’s behaviour as Reuters reports but they realise that they are essentially being held hostage and they are considering offering new funding to Ankara, effectively caving in to his blackmail.
'We have just been to the border area and have seen how tense and how difficult the situation is. The Greek authorities are facing a very difficult task in containing the situation and I want to thank the Greek border guards, the coast guards, the civilians, the police, the servicemen and servicewomen, and Frontex for their tireless effort, said Ursula von der Leyen.
Russia supports Assad and accused Turkey of flouting agreements it made with Moscow, aggravating the situation in Idlib, and failing to neutralise militants there,
In direct opposition to the UN Convention Ankara has steadfastly maintained that islands have no EEZ, a position that was rejected by the US, France, and the entire EU among others.
The strategy of pursuing closer ties with France was vindicated in 1979 when French president Valerie Giscard D’Estaing passionately supported Greece’s accession to the European Economic Community (EEC)
The French president’s remarks at a joint press conference with PM Mitsotakis are to date the clearest and most emphatic message of support of Greece’s sovereign rights.
Though strong international players such as the US and the EU have criticised the MOU it is clear that only France has begun to offer palpable backing at sea in the Mediterranean.
The MOU expropriates a large chunk of Greece’s EEZ with the specious argument that islands such as Crete (which is much closer to Libya than any EU state or Turkey) have no EEZ.
Turkey’s untrammeled audacity and enormous provocations have led to not unfounded suspicions that Ankara is getting ready for extremely bellicose acts against Greece.
Geopolitical constants have been lost, developments are being shaped elsewhere, and Greece for the time being cannot have the impact that it deserves and would want to have.
Our country must be present with the diplomatic vigour that its geopolitical place demands and with a clear conception of its size and role.
In a rare diplomatic move Vice-President President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hosted a reception for the Greek prime minister which naturally was attended by Greek-American leaders and wealthy potential donors.
For Greece a presidential statement regarding Turkish violations of international law in the Southeast Mediterranean and the Aegean would have been welcome but there was no joint press conference after the talks.
The two leaders are expected to surely discuss the volatile situation created by Turkey in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, where US energy giant ExxonMobil has acquired drilling rights in Cyprus' EEZ.
No one can ignore the fact that a new energy map in which Greece will have a leading role is being drawn up.
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