Pr. Aggelos Syrigos: The rift between the US and Turkey creates opportunities for Hellenism

Indeed, the cause is the prolonged crisis in US-Turkish relations. Due to its geographical location, Turkey was a strategically crucial link in the Western security system. It was a balance for Russia in the Caucasus and the Black Sea, which it controls access to. Besides, it holds a dominant position in the Middle East and has long been seen by the West as a model country for the promotion of a moderate and pro-western Islam. All these certainties, however, are in the past. Erdogan took care of this.

The Greek public seems rather at a loss seeing the apparent tightening of Washington-Athens relations, and indeed by a government like that of Alexis Tsipras. On the one hand, there is a widespread satisfaction with the deterioration of US-Turkish relations, but on the other, the traditional anti-Americanism of the post-junta era still lingers. It is true, of course, that this had receded before the improvement of Greek-American relations. Memoranda and austerity had shifted the antipathy of Greek opinion to Germany.

The reason the Americans have upgraded their relations with Greece, as it emerges from the strategic debate that will begin these days, is that they are preparing for the possibility of losing Turkey. Erdogan's Turkey is already slipping away from the Western security system, but without abandoning it. Washington does everything it can to bring Turkey back, but Erdogan does not seem willing to consent. That is precisely why the United States is shaping an alternative in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Things favor Greece and Cyprus
These developments undoubtedly favor Greece and the Republic of Cyprus. Both have in the past been subject to America's preference for the strategically more important Turkey. Their supposed neutrality on the Cyprus issue and on the issue of the Aegean basically worked in Ankara's favor, which escalated its claims on both fronts.

The rift that has arisen in US-Turkish relations creates the conditions to change things. Both Greek and Cypriot diplomats have to handle the new challenges with special attention, since it is unclear how Washington-Ankara relations will evolve in the coming years. This imposes a heterogeneous balance in relations with the US and Russia, given Moscow's role in the region.

Greece should not simply be transformed into a country - US base . If Washington seeks to upgrade bilateral relations, this should be done in strategic terms, not in terms of regular exchanges, without underestimating that aspect. The strategic relationship should include not only a new American approach to Greek-Turkish and Cypriot issues, but also the role of Greece in the Balkans. We recall that the Prespa Agreement was initiated within the framework that American diplomacy had formed over 10 years ago and which it promoted through Nimetz.

Written by Professor ANGELOS SYRIGOS

SOURCE: SLpress