{"id":1518100,"date":"2022-06-16T07:36:02","date_gmt":"2022-06-16T11:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1518100"},"modified":"2022-06-16T07:36:45","modified_gmt":"2022-06-16T11:36:45","slug":"nato-has-a-problem-turkey-and-greece-could-be-headed-for-a-showdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nato-has-a-problem-turkey-and-greece-could-be-headed-for-a-showdown\/","title":{"rendered":"NATO Has a Problem: Turkey and Greece Could Be Headed for a Showdown"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnato-has-a-problem-turkey-and-greece-could-be-headed-for-a-showdown%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1518100&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<p><span>Turkish President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2021\/09\/erdogans-coup-hypocrisy-on-display-in-sudan-somalia\/\">Recep Tayyip Erdogan<\/a> warned <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/05\/is-the-f-35-headed-to-greece\/\">Greece<\/a> over its militarization of islands in the Aegean Sea during the country\u2019s annual military drills this month. As one of Ankara\u2019s largest series of war games, the EFES-2022 exercise incorporated approximately 10,000 Turkish troops and 37 nations. The combined military drill involved Turkey\u2019s Navy, Air Force, and ground troops.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>On the drills\u2019 final day on June 9, Erdogan stoked tensions with Greece by using inflammatory rhetoric to \u201ccaution\u201d its fellow NATO ally. Relations between Athens and Ankara have been rocky for decades as both nations <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/warontherocks.com\/2022\/06\/dogfight-over-the-aegean-turkish-greek-relations-in-light-of-ukraine\/\"><span>dispute<\/span><\/a><span> maritime boundaries, airspace, and territorial sovereignty. Although Turkey and Greece resumed talks last year after a five-year-long hiatus to reduce tensions, little progress has been made and the two <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/06\/nato-explained-how-a-country-can-join\/\">NATO<\/a> members remain at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2021\/10\/what-a-war-between-greece-and-turkey-would-look-like\/\">odds<\/a> today.\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p><b>Military Exercises Show of Force<\/b>\n<\/p>\n<p><span>This year, Turkey\u2019s annual combined military exercises garnered troops from 37 nations, including the U.S., France, Pakistan, Italy, and Azerbaijan. According to a report published by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/erdogan-watches-turkish-military-carry-out-exercises-37-allied-nations-1714483\"><i><span>Newsweek<\/span><\/i><\/a><span>, \u201can Italian frigate, the Libyan Navy gunboat LNS SHAFAKH,\u201d and other platforms \u201cincluding the USS Arlington (LPD-24) Amphibious Landing Platform of the U.S. Navy\u201d participated in the drills. The 37-member exercise <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/caspiannews.com\/news-detail\/azerbaijans-defense-minister-to-watch-efes-2022-international-exercises-in-turkiye-2022-6-7-0\/\"><span>included<\/span><\/a><span> simulations involving artillery fire, evacuation efforts, search and rescue operations, and air assaults. The month-long exercise began on May 9 and ended with a speech dictated by Turkey\u2019s President.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe invite Greece to stop arming the islands that have non-military status and to act in accordance with international agreements.\u201d Erdogan <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/recep-tayyip-erdogan-turkey-middle-east-nato-a504ec58cc242762db5e3a5ec7dade67\"><span>added<\/span><\/a><span>, \u201cI\u2019m not joking, I\u2019m speaking seriously. This nation is determined.\u201d Ankara alleges that Athens\u2019 build-up of military forces in the Dodecanese, a group of islands off the Turkish coast, violates treaties that guarantee its neutrality. Athens asserts that Erdogan\u2019s expansionist ambitions, supplemented by Turkish forces\u2019 regular violations of Greek airspace, are hostile behaviors that merit its defensive approach.\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p><b>Tensions Between Greece and Turkey<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>In recent years, Greece has sought out support from the international community to counter Turkey\u2019s escalatory acts. The U.S. and Greece <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/europe\/greece-says-renewed-defence-deal-with-us-protect-sovereignty-both-2021-10-14\/\"><span>signed<\/span><\/a><span> a mutual defense cooperation agreement in 2021 that renewed a long-standing defense alliance. As an outcome of the agreement, the U.S. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2022-06-09\/erdogan-criticises-us-bases-in-greece-ahead-of-military-exercise#xj4y7vzkg\"><span>increased<\/span><\/a><span> its access to Greek bases and enhanced security throughout the Eastern Mediterranean along with other NATO members.\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p><span>This consequence has angered Erdogan, who accuses the U.S. and other European countries of aiding Athens in what he perceives as an illegal military buildup. A few days prior to Erdogan\u2019s cautionary speech, the Turkish president ceased discussions with his Greek counterpart due to \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2022\/6\/9\/stop-demilitarising-aegean-islands-turkeys-erdogan-tells-greece\"><span>airspace violations<\/span><\/a><span>.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>RECOMMENDED \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/06\/su-57-why-russia-wont-send-its-stealth-fighter-to-ukraine\/\">Why Russia\u2019s Su-57 Stealth Fighter Will Fail<\/a><\/strong>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>RECOMMENDED \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/05\/f-15ex-headed-for-a-crash-landing-as-in-being-canceled\/\">F-15EX \u2013 The Fighter The Air Force Doesn\u2019t Need<\/a><\/strong>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>RECOMMENDED \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/06\/russia-will-hate-this-the-f-35-is-getting-a-new-day-one-missile\/\">Why the F-35 Is Unstoppable<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n<p><span>The end of the EFES-2022 drills also coincided with Erdogan\u2019s threats to launch an offensive operation against Kurdish forces in northern Syria. This month, the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) factions finished <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.al-monitor.com\/originals\/2022\/06\/turkish-backed-forces-step-military-drills-ahead-potential-operation-northern\"><span>simulations<\/span><\/a><span> meant to prepare troops for a potential battle against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Erdogan considers the militia to be an affiliate of the outlawed Kurdistan Worker\u2019s Party (PKK), a Turkish-designated terrorist organization. Under the leadership of President Erdogan, Turkey has inserted itself into several regional conflicts. While Erdogan\u2019s hostile rhetoric towards the Kurds and the Greeks remains purely symbolic as of now, the potential for kinetic conflict remains a possibility.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/centerforsecuritypolicy.org\/author\/maya-carlin\/\"><i><span>Maya Carlin<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>\u00a0is a Middle East Defense Editor with 19FortyFive. She is also an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel.<\/span><\/i>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Greece over its militarization of islands in the Aegean Sea during the country\u2019s annual military drills this month. As one of Ankara\u2019s largest series<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1518316,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1518100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1518100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1518100"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1518100\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1518316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1518100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1518100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1518100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}