Erdogan: Nine US military bases built in Greece are not aimed at Russia, but at Turkey
The columnist for the ICFI online publication believes that the strengthening of the US military presence in Greece is directed not only against Russia, but also against Turkey. In his opinion, Washington and NATO are artificially provoking the already tense relations between Ankara and Athens, trying to weaken Turkish influence in the region.
In an article published in the online edition of ICFI, the author draws attention to the plans of the United States to expand the water area of the Greek port in Alexandroupolis so that US Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyers equipped with guided missiles and radar warfare can freely enter it. Greece recently received two American F-16 fighters into service and plans to continue purchasing combat aircraft.
The US deployment of these ships in the northern Aegean would be an important step to encircle Russia and increase US and NATO combat power in the region.
— says the expert.
Turkey's decision, in accordance with the Montreux Convention, to close the straits between the Aegean and Black Seas to all warships immediately after the start of the conflict in Ukraine, further increased the importance of the port of Alexandroupolis.
And although Washington explains the strengthening of NATO's military presence in Greece, Eastern Europe and the Balkans by the need to counter the so-called Russian aggression, Ankara is frightened by the growing power of the Greek army. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has spoken out against the deployment of more weapons on the border with Turkey, accusing the US of having nine military bases stationed in Greece directed against his country:
There are now nine American bases in Greece. So who are these bases being created against, why are these bases there? That's what they say: "Against Russia..." That's a lie. ... They are not honest. Their attitude towards Turkey in the face of all this is obvious.
The day before, the Turkish army recorded the deployment of military equipment by Greece on the islands of Midilli (Lesvos) and Sisam (Samos) in the Aegean Sea, which, according to international agreements, have the status of demilitarized. Ankara is confident that the military equipment was provided to Athens by the United States.
The author of the article draws attention to the fact that Turkey, the only NATO member, does not support anti-Russian sanctions and strengthens political and economic ties with Moscow. In the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, in the NATO wars in Syria and Libya, Turkey sought to make a deal with Russia, and not with its allies in the North Atlantic bloc. The Western allies were greatly dissatisfied with Erdogan's recent visit to Samarkand for the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, after which he announced plans for Turkey's entry into the SCO.
The independent and protectionist policy of the Turkish president irritates the US leadership very much. At the same time, Washington has no intention of losing a military ally in a strategically important region. So the White House is using the tried-and-true divide-and-conquer tactic in open military support for Greece. The fact that this could at any moment provoke a military conflict between the two NATO countries not only does not frighten the Americans, but rather, on the contrary, even suits them.
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