Greece expands gulf allies to counter tension with 'regional rival' Turkey

Greece on Thursday hoisted the Foreign ministers and senior officials from several Persian Gulf countries in Athens as it sought to expand its alliances to counter regional tension with rival Turkey. The two NATO allies have locked horns over acrimonious Mediterranean water disputes, energy and minority rights, civil and military strife, dissent related to extent of territorial waters, continental shelves and Flight Information Region (FIR) over the Aegean, the militarisation of Greek islands, and right on resources in the eastern Mediterranean, among many conflicts. However, in its effort to gain an advantage over Turkey in the Mediterranean dispute, officials from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates and foreign ministers from Greece, Cyprus, and Egypt, held a diplomatic meeting presided by the French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. 

“It is natural for Greece to seek out this type of cooperation, multidimensional challenges in our wider neighborhood make it necessary,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said at the start of the meeting. The participating countries have long sided with Greece, and plan to convene regular meetings and dialogue, he further added.

Earlier last month, Greece and Turkey held their first direct talks in nearly five years over the Eastern Mediterranean standoff. In the meeting, convened by NATO members relationship,  Ankara and Athens were expected to normalize their thwarted ties, and the consultation according to local press turned out to be “exploratory," with prospects of future formal dialogues. While Germany hailed the meeting as a "positive [sign] it had been waiting for for some time,” the US ‘welcomed’ the dialogue between the two rival countries. 

[Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, left, meets with Syriza party leader Alexis Tsipras, in Athens. Credit: AP]

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Erdogan: 'Two-state solution' to Cyprus

Contrary to what was anticipated, in a speech at the Turkish Parliament on February 10, President Erdogan warned Greece, saying 'don't challenge me' as tensions spiralled out of control between the two NATO allies once again over Northern Cyprus. As Greece cosied up with allies from the Persian Gulf, the Turkish President lashed out at Greece President remarks that Turkey’s allies had “abandoned” the nation over disputes related to sea boundaries and gas. Raising the issue of Northern Cyprus, an area under control by Turkey, the Turkish leader told the Grand National Assembly of Turkey that there was a “two-state solution” instead of a unified Cyprus. “Now Mitsotakis challenged me, how shall we get together with you after you challenged me like this, you better know your place,” Erdogan told a presser. “If there is a search for peace don’t challenge me too, know your limits. If not, that means you kicked the negotiation table, you ran away from it. We cannot sit at the table with you. What you do on the island is obvious, what is it that makes you confident?” he further added, challenging Greece.

[Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, center, ministers and army commanders attend a meeting of the High Military Council in Ankara. Credit: AP]

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(Image Credit: AP)