ATHENS – [ANA-MPA]
Greece needs to see Greek-Turkish and Greek-American relations differently, as conditions have changed radically today, Greek Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Alexandra Papadopoulou stressed at the XI Delphi Economic Forum on April 22, in a panel including former PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos and Professor Christos Rozakis.
At the panel, Papadopoulou noted that the American history is full of oscillations between isolationism and reemergence, with isolationism resulting from a viewpoint of many Americans that several of their problems are due to the rest of the world. The deputy minister expressed the opinion that the basic direction of US foreign policy will not change with a new administration, saying in addition that Europe cannot manage challenges without the US. The EU-US relations are very important for Greece specifically as well, she noted, while the United States sees Greece as a country between the EU and the Middle East and as valuable to the United States for many reasons, she added.
Venizelos referred to Greek-Turkish relations, underlining among others that “the priority with Türkiye is to maintain control of the pace in Greek-Turkish relations and not hand it over to anyone else,” and to reiterate that Greece does not have any intention to take aggressive action against it. In terms of Greece, he pointed out that “we have not reached a national consensus” domestically, which is necessary. He also noted the difference between Greece’s and the US’ view on international law: “The US are not bound by international organizations such at the International Court, while they have not signed the Law of the Sea,” while the EU faces these laws with a tendency to comply and with awe.
Professor Rozakis said that Türkiye has rights in the Aegean as well as Greece, something the Simitis government recognized and Türkiye itself had acknowledged for Greece. However, Türkiye adopted the ‘Blue Homeland’ idea of jurisdiction over half of the Aegean and the entire eastern basin of the Mediterranean. In addition, while Greece has shown flexibility in some issues such as the delimitation of the EEZ, Türkiye has never shown a desire for flexibility and negotiation. Greek governments, meanwhile, cultivated the belief in Greek public opinion of the maximum limits of the continental shelf. However, he said, the Aegean is not a Greek lake and Türkiye has enough coastal areas to demand rights, while Greece cannot exclude it through a median line.
