Cultivation, with ups and downs, intensity as in the Aegean sea and also in Eastern Mediterranean is, as shown by Ankara’s recent steps, the central axis in the strategic planning of the President of Turkey. OUR Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeatedly, especially in recent years, he tries to “remind” Ankara’s aggressive moods towards our country, even by actions that are clearly symbolic: the case of flights Turkish fighter jets over the territory under Greek sovereignty on August 15 is a typical example of this provocative strategy, since, above all, it sends a signal that Ankara does not intend to comply even with the moratorium that it has long jointly established between Greece as well as Turkey for the summer season and especially for the religious and national holidays of the two countries.

Demonstrations by Turkish fighter jets took place over the islands of Kinaros, Leros and Candeliussa just before noon, with many national airspace violations and Athens FIR violations reported. There were also reports that there were collisions with his aircraft. air force us.

Erdogan’s maneuvers

The Turkish fighter flights on August 15 are also interpreted as Erdogan’s response to the criticism he received inside his country regarding the “Abdul Hamid Khan” field of study.

This step is perceived not only as a continuation of Ankara’s series of provocative actions against Greece in all directions, but also as a “maneuver” Recep Tayyip Erdogan against those in Turkey who criticize him as “condescending” for his principled decision to operate a Turkish oil rig in the immediate vicinity of Antalya. It is reminded that NAVTEX which was issued for a specific area and driller’s actions, is valid until the first week of October. The mentioned choice of the Turkish president has created a sense that bilateral relations, at least until then and during the difficult summer period, will not be put to the alarming test, as happened in the summer of 2020, when the two countries arrived shortly before open conflict due to investigations. “Oruch Flight”.

These investigations have been a link in Erdogan’s strategy in recent years and have not allowed the Greek side to be complacent. In this sense, the mentioned recent actions of the Turkish Air Force were by no means “surprising”. This strategy is colored, among other things, by the “hybrid war” on Evros with the instrumentalization of immigrant refugees, the intensification of Ankara’s communicative “attack” to demilitarize the Greek islands, up to the closure of all channels of communication with Athens, and even by President Erdogan himself, through public and offensive reports personally to the Prime Minister of Greece.

Converging assessments indicate that the planning of the movements of the President of Turkey is made with his eye on the elections to be held next summer in a neighboring country, with the aim, of course, of his re-election, with his mindset focused on the growing need to deal with the ever-growing problems of the Turkish economy, as well as in conjunction with the West and especially with the United States, mainly in terms of equipping the Turkish armed forces. His domestic opponents, in the face of the upcoming elections, as well as the need to manage the extremely weakened Turkish economy and the neighboring society tense in connection with this extremely difficult winter, show the direction of the “show of strength” to part of Turkey on the international chessboard as a one-way street for – on Erdogan. Visions to the west and south of the Turkish border constitute the main axes of this strategy, in addition to others highlighted by the current situation, such as the Russian-Ukrainian front from the north, as well as the search for a central role in the energy map being formed.