Tensions between Turkey and Greece have started to escalate in the last 6 months. There are two main reasons here. First and foremost, security concerns at a strategic level. Although the upcoming elections in the two countries affect the dose and method of mutual discourses, this second dimension is a secondary reason. The main thing is that Greece’s fait accompli policy towards Turkey’s rights and that it has become a means of “showing a stick” with the help of the USA.
This strategic basis lays the groundwork for the domestic political spiral for both countries. So much so that the US-Greek relations, which got stronger step by step after Turkey’s S400 decision, lost their neutrality to a large extent with the increasing military deployment in Alexandroupoli. Unjust/unlawful attempts both in Turkish territorial waters and in the Aegean islands, and their uncompromising attitude in the Eastern Mediterranean still continue. As the reasons deepening the issue get stronger, the harassment shot etc. that occurred the other day. it will last. It can be assumed that the approach in question is aimed at provoking Turkey and isolating Turkey even more in the international arena. These and other possibilities should be taken into account. Although I do not see the possibility of a much-voiced war at the final point, there does not seem to be a solution to the problem in the short term.
However, this tension experienced by Turkey and Greece, which appear to be two allies within the NATO concept, is partly a reflection of the ongoing power struggle at the rear. The mission undertaken by Turkey in the Ukraine war and the policy it has pursued with the least damage until now are not sustainable by the USA and NATO. In fact, in some evaluations made in the USA, it is mentioned that Russia will want to increase the chaos within NATO by escalating the tension between Turkey and Greece.
However, at this point, an unethical contradiction emerges. Claiming that it is at the forefront in the war of sanctions against Russia at every opportunity, Greece actually pierces the most important sanction item.
As it will be remembered, oil imports from EU countries and Britain to Russia would be banned completely by the end of the year for pipelines that were completely banned by sea as of February. However, a way has been found and the sale continues to occur by transfer between ships at sea.
And it was determined that oil transfer was made from ship to ship on the Greek coast with these tankers that left Russia and then reached European ports.
Nikkei, Japan’s leading commercial newspaper, used a series of data to determine where the tankers leaving Russian ports went and to which ships the oil was transferred as of February 24, and came to these conclusions. Where ship-to-ship transfers often took place was the waters off the Mediterranean coast of Greece.
It seems that not just one or two, but 175 times and 23.86 million barrels of oil have been exported. Last year, only 9 transfers were made in this way. It is stated that the shipments of tankers belonging to companies based in Greece accounted for 50% of the oil shipments in August. Whereas, according to the International Energy Agency, Russia’s oil exports to the EU in July were 2.8 million barrels per day, down 26 percent compared to January.
Although the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that the transfers take place outside its territorial waters, it does not take any steps to end this practice. The Athens administration refuses to listen to the call of some deputies to “close the Laconian Gulf”. Because it becomes difficult to determine the origin through ship-to-ship transfer and both earns money and becomes a strategic embargo for show.
Now isn’t there a double standard here? Just like with the S300!
The fact that the countries that criticize Turkey for not imposing sanctions against Russia remain silent on Greece’s obvious policy that violates the sanctions is also a reflection of the strategic security dimension that we put forward at the beginning.