The restoration of the question of Greek sovereignty in some islands of the eastern Aegean Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and the “shaking off” of the “everything in The Hague” position, including of course the sovereignty of Greece, did not surprise anyone in Athens, closely following the events of recent months, while the Greek side insists on keeping a low profile. In fact, in the previous period, several experienced diplomats calculated that on the way to the elections, the Erdogan government would prefer to be reminded that the change in behavior towards Greece reflects the current situation and does not represent a strategic shift in Turkish foreign policy. To Aegean Sea and to Eastern Mediterranean. In short, his government could not Recep Tayyip Erdogan concede to the Greek-Turkish nationalist opposition. The combination of Erdogan’s “Blue Homeland” statements and Cavusoglu’s statements about the temporary nature of the Greek-Turkish truce in the Aegean greatly underscores how realistic expectations can be for the future negotiation process with Ankara.

Although there is a sincere desire in Athens for a dialogue process with Ankara, at the same time it becomes clear that there are certain issues that need to be clarified. First, Athens accepts the appeal to The Hague in principle only on the issue of the continental shelf. While it is clear that Athens can discuss in good faith the possibility of extradition and certain other disputes in The Hague, they certainly do not include issues of sovereignty. Simply put, Athens cannot accept that International Court of Justice of The Hague may have any authority to decide whether an island belongs to Greece or not.

According to diplomatic sources, the Erdogan government will not be able to cede the Greek-Turkish agenda to the nationalist opposition in view of the elections.

It is also clear that the process of resuming the dialogue will have concrete steps, such as a return to confidence-building measures, political dialogue, exploratory contacts, the so-called positive agenda and other standard forms of contacts between Athens and Ankara.

However, officially from Athens, the tone of Mr. Tsavoussoglu’s statements remains low. Yesterday, Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, after meeting with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shukri, said: “It is understandable in the pre-election period to try, under the pressure of pre-election needs, to include public discussion in consideration of critical foreign policy issues.” However, he stressed that “both sides must protect this prevailing climate. Because only in this way we will be able to use any space for agreements after the elections, and I do not think it is useful to include the issue of Greek-Turkish relations in the pre-election period, which is ongoing. in both countries at the same time.

Mr. Dendias directly responded to Turkey’s repeated suggestion to go to The Hague “on all matters” by stating that “what is guaranteed by international agreements, international treaties and international law cannot be negotiated.” The Greek Foreign Minister expressed his hope that the positive atmosphere will serve as “a starting point for an honest dialogue to discuss our differences with Turkey, i.e. delimitation of the continental shelf And her EEZ on the basis of the UN Charter, good neighborly relations, respect for international law and the law of the sea.”

AKP Manifesto and Greece

The “blue motherland” and the actions of Turkish diplomacy against Greece in previous years are included in the 400-page election manifesto of the ruling AKP party in Turkey. It is mentioned, among other things, that “Greek steps that violate international law and treaties threaten Turkey’s security in the Aegean and in the East. Mediterranean Sea”. I recall a series of letters from Turkey to the UN supporting the position that “our maritime borders extend to territorial waters of the islands is located in the area. We have stated that the islands cannot have influence that interferes with our continental shelf.” In the manifest Aegean and Anat. The Mediterranean is called “the main pillars of the Blue Motherland”. Finally, it is noted that “the legitimate interests of our country, as well as the TRNC (the so-called pseudo-state) will be protected using all our capabilities.”