WASHINGTON, DC – [ANA-MPA]
Greece and Israel are reacting to common challenges and are not trying to exclude Türkiye, National Defense Minister Nikos Dendias said in a panel by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies on current global and regional developments in defense and security, in the context of the Delphi Economic Forum Washington DC VII on February 3.
Dendias held a discussion with FDD Exeutive Director Jonathan Schanzer, after being introduced by founder and president of Delphi Economic Forum Symeon Tsomokos, and Hellenic American Leadership Council Executive Director Endy Zemenides.
“It would be wonderful if Türkiye ended up participating in what we are doing [Greece and Israel]. But this includes some conditions. There are rules. Rules are not Israel’s, Greece’s, Egypt’s, Türkiye’s rules, they are the rules of the Treaty for the Law of the Sea. If Türkiye accepts the Treaty for the Law of the Sea and adopts the Treaty for the Rule of the Sea, then we can all work together,” Dendias said.
The minister said that the Greek government’s position and his personal one is to continue talks withe Türkiye, because if communications channels remain open, then sometime in the future the neighboring country may realize that its own interests are much closer to what Greece and Israel and EU is doing, instead of using the approach of reviving some form of the Ottoman Empire, which would be difficult under present circumstances.
Referring to his visit to Washington, the defense minister said it was necessary to take stock of current situation and to have a common understanding of the region’s challenges. “If we agree how we want the world around Greece to be like, in Southeast Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, the Black Sea, if we agree with the US how we want this world to look like in ten years, the rest will follow.”
Dendias also spoke of ‘Agenda 2030’ (the Greek defense plan), innovation and artificial intelligence and Greek-Israeli cooperation in that sector, and Greece’s stance on a unified Cyprus, with EU membership and full rights for all, both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, and on the need for Europe to understand challenges from Russia and the Sahel area and build independent possibilities of defense, as long as it takes to achieve this. He also spoke of bringing India closer, and of its role as a rising third economic power in the world, and a democracy as well. He also revealed he would be visiting India after his visit to the United States.
