By ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ (GREEK) TÜRKÇE (TURKISH)
On June 14, on the occasion of President Christodoulides’ contacts in Strasbourg but also of Erdogan’s visit to the occupied areas, I noted the following in an article entitled “Two images, one truth”:
“Whatever the case, the President’s attempt to exchange EU ‘gifts’ with Turkey for a more positive stance on the Cyprus problem is a good one. But we should not forget that Erdogan has much stronger cards to play than the Cyprus problem. Accepting Sweden’s membership to NATO, relations with Russia, a sincere return to the forces of the Western alliance are cards that can provide him with much more than what he thinks Mr Christodoulides can offer him.”
Within a few hours, Erdogan turned everything upside down and began a new chapter in the book of Turkish politics. He received Zelenskyy with honours, handed him the Azov officers by unilaterally cancelling his agreement with Moscow, declared that Ukraine should join NATO, discussed the sale of drones to the Ukrainian army and… in a surprise move, he lifted all his objections to Sweden’s membership of the North Atlantic Alliance. The familiar and persistently superficial analyses of Greek ‘experts’ will once again be exhausted in arguments along the lines of “oriental bargaining by the Sultan”, “Erdogan has once again taken everything”, etc. No one will notice that Erdogan simply did what the Turks always do. They tread in two boats until they can be certain of who the winner and loser in a conflict will be. A historical examination of the Turkish stance during World War II leads to the safe conclusion that Erdogan is simply copying his predecessors. It suffices to recall that Turkey declared war on Germany – after its long period of cunning neutrality – on 23 February 1945!! That is, when everything had already been concluded…
Today, therefore, Erdogan understands that Russia has lost the war with the West and that it will never again, at least for the foreseeable future, have the power it had before the invasion of Ukraine. And what makes more sense than going with the winners…
After every Great War (and such is the Ukrainian War today), the victors redesign the world. And they redesign it not through drawn-out diplomatic processes but through urgent measures. It is in this context that we may soon face issues of direct concern to us: the Aegean, the Mediterranean, the Cyprus problem, the region’s wealth-producing resources. The big question is whether we are ready to play this big game and realistically claim a more secure and sustainable future, leveraging interests and alliances, or whether we will continue to cling to the micro-politics that we, as amateurs in this area, have become accustomed to following.
Because, as it happens, when history is being rewritten, to exhaust oneself in the appointment of one or two envoys who will “pick up where we left off”, reveals at the very least a complete lack of awareness of what is going on around us.
Source: HISTORY IS BEING REWRITTEN
