Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias took a direct swipe at Berlin this week, calling the Merkel government’s policy vis-a-vis Turkey amid Ankara’s crescendo of provocations and belligerence in the east Mediterranean as failed.
In an interview published in the Sunday edition of the Germany daily “Die Welt”, Dendias noted that “unfortunately, the mild approach of Germany towards Turkey failed … I am not happy to use this word when referring to Germany, but unfortunately, Berlin’s policy towards Ankara can be described as appeasement. The Germans attempted to appease the Turks, and this failed. This is clearly demonstrated by the sailing of the Oruc Reis.”
He also pointed directly to a risk of armed conflict in the Mediterranean from the provocations by the increasingly authoritarian Erdogan administration, and called on Berlin to stop supplying Turkey with weapons that could be used against EU member-state Greece.
Dendias’ comments come after an unexpected phone call by his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, to hold face-to-face contacts, all in the wake of the Biden electoral victory in the United States.
Islamist-leaning Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has greeted the election of the former US vice-president with a noteworthy silence.
According to reports, the Greek FM responded to Cavusoglu that whatever talks can resume once Turkey removes hydrocarbon exploration vessels from waters that constitute Greece’s future EEZ under the UN Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
