The developments in the war in Israel and the situation in the Gaza Strip were the subject of the telephone conversation between Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as officially announced by both sides.
Athens believes, according to government sources, that it could play a role, with Kyriakos Mitsotakis noting to Recep Tayyip Erdogan “the need to avoid a humanitarian crisis and not threaten regional stability.”
At the same time, the Turkish president pointed out that Ankara “has made every effort to end this conflict process, which can have extremely negative consequences on a regional and global scale, and will continue to do so.”
While expressing the view that “countries in the region must make efforts to stop conflicts and human rights violations, as well as maintain peace and give a message to the world in this direction, he stated that it would be right to measures should be taken as soon as possible to reduce tensions and not increase them”.
The pursuit of Erdogan
Erdoğan also did not follow the West’s footsteps in the Israel-Hamas war. The opposite. He chose his own path, seeking to put Turkey at the center as a mediator. Leaning clearly towards Hamas.
“The US is sending an aircraft carrier. Mr. America What are you doing there? Where is America, where is Israel and Palestine?’ stated the Turkish president in a speech on October 12, while wondering where the West stands in the blockade of Gaza. In the same speech to his party’s deputies, Erdogan accused Israel of “massacre”.
The Turkish president is also looking for a role for Ankara in this conflict. He strongly criticizes the USA and the West for their attitude, while at the same time he also turns his fire on Israel, showing that he does not count on the rapprochement for which he himself fought so hard.
On Monday, the Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had a telephone conversation with the head of the Hamas Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, as reported by Turkish media, regarding developments in Palestine and the possibility of releasing civilian hostages.
On Tuesday Fidan is making an official visit to Lebanon with the subject of current regional and international developments.
It is recalled that the Turkish Foreign Minister was the head of the Turkish secret services and has been involved in negotiations in the past, especially behind the scenes.
Erdogan also in this case appears willing to become the protector of Muslims. To show that he has influence and can act as a catalyst in developments.
Some wonder if the new Erdoğan-West conflict can also affect Greece-Turkey relations. To once again open the door to the rhetoric of tension and threats. However, the Mitsotakis-Erdogan communication on Monday did not show anything of the sort. Rather, he confirmed the open channels of communication with the Mitsotakis initiative showing a willingness to prevent even tensions that could arise as a result of other crises.
Erdogan will clearly not be left out of the Middle East diplomatic game. However, it is too early to talk about a rupture in US-Turkey relations.
Latest News
BoG Figures Confirm Banner Year for Greek Tourism in 2023
20.6 billion euros in related revenues topped the previous year’s figure by 16.5%
Piraeus Bank to Propose First Dividend in 16 Years
Piraeus Bank has forecast profits of roughly 900 million euros this year, rising to one billion euros next year
Eurostat: Inflation in Greece Eases to 3.2% in April; 2.4% in Eurozone
The rate of increase for food prices was up by 4.9% in April 2024, compared to 4.8% in the previous month
ELSTAT Feb. Retail Turnover Drops by 3.8%, Sales Volume Plummets by 9.8%
Additionally, the seasonally adjusted General Volume Index for Feb. 2024 experienced a 3.8% decrease compared to the previous month of the same year
Greek Buyers Lead Return to Vacation Home Market
In the last six months, Greeks have made a surge into the vacation home market, notably without relying on loans
NBG Receives BBB Investment Grade by DBRS
This makes NBG the first Greek bank to regain Investment grade status, nearly 15 years after the onset of the Greek financial crisis
Greek Gov. Budget: Primary Surplus 3bln in Q1 2024
Value Added Tax (VAT) revenues reached 5.876 billion euros, down by 16 million euros compared to the target
Athens’ Public Transport System Gets Green “Facelift”
The future of urban transport in Greece's capital city includes electrification, hydrogen, kinetic energy and even heighted security and monitoring through the use of drones
Athens Int’l Airport: 16.2% EBITDA Increase and 16.5% Passenger Growth in Q1 2024
Following the strong performance in the first quarter, the company revised its annual passenger traffic forecast for 2024 to 29.9 million passengers, a 6.3% increase (or roughly 1.8 million passengers) from 2023 levels.
Oxford Economics Report: Greek Economy is Just Below Risk Zone
However, the report points to a persistent challenge in the form of commercial credit risk, which remains high at 8 out of 10, ranking Greece 104th internationally