ATHENS, GREECE – Greece said Tuesday it had approved a landmark $1.68 billion deal with Israel, providing for the procurement of 10 state-of-the-art jet fighters and training of pilots as the government in Athens upgrades its defenses, mainly against its longtime foe Turkey. The deal, which both sides are set to sign in the coming …
Greece, Israel Seal $1.6 Billion Defense Deal – Voice of America Read More »
The reconciliation narrative began with maps that Turkey sought to push to Israeli media that show Turkey and Israel sharing a maritime border, which they do not. Ankara wants to ignore Cyprus and try to impose gas claims off the coast, much as it has done with Greece.
Turkey’s goal here is to try to get Israel to stop working on a pipeline agreement with Greece and Cyprus and reroute efforts to Turkey. This is designed not to “reconcile” with Israel but to sabotage deals between Athens, Nicosia and Jerusalem.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cannot harbor Hamas terrorists and try to forge closer ties with Israel, a senior diplomatic source said Sunday. “I don’t really believe he’s being honest,” the source said. “We need to see actions.” The comments came after Erdogan on Friday told reporters Turkey “would have liked to bring our ties …
Israel suspicious of Erdogan’s overtures – The Jerusalem Post Read More »
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sought to signal a softening in his foreign policy stance this past weekend. First, he called Saudi Arabia’s King Salman to discuss bilateral ties following several months of tension, that included popular calls for the boycott of Turkish products. The next day, he contradicted months of his own anti-European …
Turkey’s Jews are feeling the heat of Erdogan’s extremism – The National Read More »
In September, Egypt called on Arab states to create common, assertive policy against Turkey. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Morocco began to boycott Turkish imports. These moves stem from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s increasingly interventionist policy towards Arab states and the Mediterranean region. The escalating dispute puts the EU in …
Arab States Against Turkey – Polish Institute of International Affairs Read More »
In strongly worded criticism, Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris this week said Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is making a “very big mess” in the Middle East by interfering around the region. A Turkish official said, “President Erdoğan leads our Nation accordingly and claims to the contrary are baseless.” Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris leveled strongly worded …
Naguib Sawiris says Turkey’s Erdogan wants to be ‘new Ottoman emperor’ – CNBC Read More »
This is the Ankara model: Threaten Israel, Greece, Cyprus, France, Greece, the UAE and other countries. Days after a war Turkey had supported looks set to end in Azerbaijan, Ankara needs a new crisis and is threatening Greece with a new naval operation between November 11 and 23. The operation is designed to create a …
Ankara threatens Greece with new naval maneuvers as Pompeo arrives – The Jerusalem Post Read More »
Turkey is today under the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood and it has become an aggressive state which seeks to the a standard bearer of Islamists and extremists in the wider region of Middle East and North Africa say, in his exclusive interview in “To Vima”, Dr. Anwar Gargash. The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who is widely considered the “architect” of the recently signed peace agreement with Israel (although the mastermind of UAE’s strategy is its leader, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed) believes that the politicization of religion constitutes a grave threat. He also clarifies that the prospects for bilateral cooperation with Greece in economy and trade but also in security are huge and they are developing rapidly.
Later on Monday, Israir received approval from Greek authorities to send rescue flights to Thessaloniki for the purpose of returning Israelis home. The Greek government announced on Monday that it has decided to completely shut down the airport in the city of Thessaloniki due to rising morbidity rates in northern areas of the country, stranding …
The State Department on Thursday informally notified Congress that it plans to sell F-35 fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates, according to the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The deal would include up to 50 of the Lockheed Martin-made jets at a cost of $10.4 billion, a congressional aide said. If the sale is completed, the UAE would become only the second country in the Middle East to fly the advanced fighter jets after Israel.
The Greek Foreign Minister slammed new illegal actions by Turkey. “Within a few short days, Turkey is once again taking actions aimed at undermining any prospect of constructive dialogue, unlawfully reserving areas within the Greek continental shelf for illegal seismic surveys, or other provocative actions, such as the Turkish Vice-President’s illegal visit to occupied Varosha, a flagrant breach of the relevant Resolutions of the UN Security Council,” he said.
“We have unequivocally condemned these actions. These developments were certainly discussed during my talks with my counterparts yesterday and today. The common denominator of these talks was that ways to halt the aggressiveness and destabilising role played by Turkey must be found — but always within the framework of international legality,” Dendias said.
Previous generations have seen what happens when countries try to inflame religious hatred and violent extremism, and Turkey’s current ruler is not only destabilizing the Middle East by buying Russia’s S-400s anti-aircraft missile system, working with Iran, threatening Israel and trying to stir up divisions in Europe. He has also created scapegoats at home, removing Kurdish mayors and stoking tensions against opposition parties, jailing people for tweets and harassing and jailing journalists.
While Ankara compares today’s Europe to the days when it was dominated by fascism in the1930s, a more reasonable comparison would be to observe the rhetoric now being heard from Ankara, and the toxic blend of religion, populism, far-right politics and ethno-nationalism.