If not for the shocking developments in Washington, we would be talking about a different agenda.
This has been a year of high tension for Turkish-Greek relations. A year, when the two countries came to an almost military confrontation and diplomacy failed to produce a meaningful dialogue.
If there is something that is common to a big number of people right now is fear. Fear is always there, of course, and it is part of our existence. But usually, fear is accompanied by the object of fear. “I am afraid of…” The more specific the object of our fear, the more we could rationalize and gather strength to combat it. The less specific it is, the more difficult it becomes for us to organize ourselves to fight it.
The result of the American elections, which brought the Democrats back to the global political stage is expected to impact the geopolitical balances between Turkey and its neighbors, as well as Turkey and Europe.
In the middle of a worryingly increasing number of COVID-19 cases and deaths, without the customary parades and military marches, Greeks celebrated their national day, known as the “No” day. Oct. 28, 1940 is a day of remembrance for the refusal by the then Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas to allow the Italian army to enter Greece.
The date Jan. 1, 1985, might mean nothing to most of us; nothing major happened in the world on that Tuesday, apart from the fact that people all over the world were celebrating the beginning of a new year.
A few days ago, I received an urgent telephone call from the editor of a Greek media organization. He was alarmed by a story that had circulated not only among the Greek media but also several Turkish and international media. The story was about the historic Büyükada Rum Orphanage, which claims to be the biggest wooden structure in Europe and the second in the world that somehow still stands on the hilltop of Prinkipo, the biggest island of the Princes’ Islands archipelago in the Marmara Sea.
The sudden resignation of the Greek prime minister’s national security adviser two days ago continues to stir discussions as to whether the Mitsotakis government has been effective in managing the latest crisis with Turkey. Or, as the opposition parties are claiming, “It is running behind Turkey trying to catch up without a specific policy” on how to deal with its most problematic neighbor.
To say that June and July have been an eventful period for the relations between Turkey and Greece is an understatement. Things considerably got from bad to worse, lately.
