The successful visit of the Greek Prime Minister to the USA and his historic speech in the Congress, which was universally applauded, has not "sat" well at all in Turkey. On the contrary. In fact, it has sparked the anger Turkish elites, with Erdogan not only raising his voice, but making extremely provocative statements against Greece and Mr. Mitsotakis, unprecedented in terms of diplomacy and especially between leaders of states.

Erdogan's "Mitsotakis no longer exists for me" shows Ankara's enormous anger over the Greek government's moves in the diplomatic field and the fact that the Congress seemed to be on Greece's side, denouncing Turkish provocations and violations.

Athens, on the path of responsibility and composure, responded without raising the tone further, and in accordance with the principles of international law. "Greek foreign policy is strongly based on history, international law and our alliances, no matter how much it bothers some. (...) Our policy is a policy of principles ", was the characteristic answer of the government representative, Giannis Economou.

Erdogan: "Mitsotakis no longer exists for me, I will not meet with him again"

"He [Mitsotakis] no longer exists for me. I will never agree to meet him. We will continue our path with honest politicians," Erdogan said, noting that Turkey would not hold the Supreme Cooperation Council with Greece due to the Greek prime minister's statements against Turkey to US leaders.

According to Erdogan, although Greece and Turkey had agreed not to involve other countries in issues of bilateral interest, Mitsotakis went to the US Congress and criticized Turkey, warning that it should not be given the F-16s.

"We could have strategic cooperation talks with Greece, but after his last statements we have to review that as well. Mitsotakis had said 'not to involve third parties in this business', but he went and talked to the US about this issue," the Turkish president said.

"I do not think the United States will make its decision on the F-16s by looking at what Mitsotakis would say," Erdogan said.

 "Currently in Greece there are ten [American] bases. Why? Who are they threatening? Why are these bases being built in Greece?"Here we are talking about a Greece that owes 400 billion euros to EU countries," said Tayyip Erdogan, adding: "Let him meet with whomever he wants and let him establish military bases with whomever he wants. Turkey is self-sufficient."

Erdogan unveils new submarines, with threats and warnings against Greece-Cyprus

Erdogan made the remarks after a "show" at the launching ceremony of the Hizirreis submarine, which took place at the Golcuki Shipyard, where he issued threats and warnings against the "bad neighbors" of Turkey, namely Greece and Cyprus.  

It is recalled that "Hurriyet" had written that at the last meeting of the Central Committee of the AKP, Tayyip Erdogan, referring to the contacts of Kyriakos Mitsotakis in the US, expressed his deep dissatisfaction and said that "we must definitely reconsider the issue of the relationship ".

The result of this attitude was the unthinkable recent provocation, with two Turkish F-16s violating national airspace, flying at a distance of 2.5 nm. from Alexandroupolis.

And all this just a few months after the meeting he had with the Greek Prime Minister in Istanbul, where the climate was very positive.

Athens' response to Erdogan's statements

For its part, the Greek government reacted strongly, but responsibly, to Erdogan's statements.

Government spokesman Giannis Economou said in a statement that the prime minister was defending Greece without violating international law.

"The Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis strongly and effectively defends both our national law and international legitimacy. Greek foreign policy is strongly based on history, international law and our alliances, no matter how much it bothers some. We will not confront statements with the Turkish leadership. Our policy is a policy of principles, said Mr. Economou.

The dynamics of the ferry routes between Turkey and the Greek islands are constantly increasing, with the ferries starting services this year after two years of inactivity due to the pandemic.

The president of the Association of Tourist Travel and Maritime Agencies of Lesvos Panagiotis Hatzikyriakos said that there is movement on the line Lesvos - Ayvalik, which does not reach the numbers of 2019 due to the situation and the economic crisis in Turkey. "Of course, after two full years of inactivity, we saw Turks coming to the island, mostly well-off. During the period of Bairam, about 1,000 visitors came, while at other times they reached 3-4,000."

According to official data, in 2019 Lesvos was visited by 38,605 Turks, while in 2020 only 583. Respectively, Chios was visited in 2019 by 63,823 and in 2020 by only 5,332. Two years ago, 32,119 arrived in Samos and in 2020 only 5 Turkish tourists. Visits to all three islands last summer were also zero.

Is the Greek flag "unprofitable"?

In a market that has a monopoly in Ankara, Mr. Hatzikyriakos stressed that the Lesvos line is served by three companies with two conventional ferries and a catamaran, all with Turkish flags. He underlined that in the past there were also Greek companies, however the "neighbors" gradually established themselves, due to various factors such as the "quality difference" and therefore the smaller "requirements" of the Turkish register.

"Turkish-flagged ships had lower charges, lower operating costs and were more competitive (cheaper fares, etc.). "Thus, for the Greeks, the business activity in the sector was deemed unprofitable", he pointed out.

As he said, we observe this image in the other islands of the eastern Aegean, where there is a ferry connection with the Turkish coast, with the exception of Chios, where a Greek boat is active.

Ferries to Turkey boost local economies

The Turkish side claims that the demand and interest for ferry services between the Turkish beaches and the Greek islands is increasing daily.

"Apart from the Turks and Greeks who use the ships, more and more travelers from other countries are enjoying this service. Many tourists, especially from South American countries, first visit Turkey and then want to go to the Greek islands. "The movement of ferries is constantly gaining momentum," said Yusuf Ozturk of the Izmir Chamber's Maritime Branch.

He noted that coastal services provide a lifeline to local economies where ships operate.

"Many people travel from the Greek islands to Turkish coastal cities for shopping," Ozturk told Hurriyet, adding that demand is particularly strong for ferries between Cesme and Chios and between Ayvalik and Lesvos."

The last thing NATO needs is another source of tension between Greece and Turkey, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told veteran Washington Post editor and columnist David Ignatius on Monday, during a live-streamed Q&A session at Georgetown University on Monday.