On the occasion of Greek military drills, Turkey continues to question Greek sovereign rights and raises the issue of the demilitarization of the islands of Chalki, Tilos, Psara, Kastellorizo, Chios, Ikaria and Samos.
At the same time, this morning two Turkish fishing boats violated Greek territorial waters in Agathonisi. From the first moment they were spotted by the coast guard who informed them of the violation. The Turkish fishermen did not dare to cast their nets and left shortly afterwards.
At the military level, the NATO exercise NEPTUNE STRIKE 2023 began today, which is being held until February 28 in areas of the Ionian Sea west of Andravida and off Sicily, with the participation of three aircraft carriers, namely the "George Bush", the Spanish "Juan Carlos" and the of Italian "Cabour", giving it a special meaning for the time period in which it takes place. In this exercise, from the Greek side, fighter aircraft and a team of special missions to point out targets from the Special Warfare Command participate.
In Thrace, the participation of a group of 20 Israeli soldiers in the "Thracian Cooperation" exercise, which is being conducted with the participation of Greek and American forces, began today. According to military sources, this participation is considered a harbinger of greater participation of Israeli ground forces in exercises in Greece. To a degree perhaps equivalent to that in Cyprus where entire units of the Israeli army are transferred to the mega island in order to exercise.
On a diplomatic level, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will meet in Athens with Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Alexis Tsipras and Nikos Dendias, with whom he will proceed on Tuesday with the opening of the 4th Greece-US Strategic Dialogue.
The Greek Minister of National Defense Nikos Panagiotopoulos will also participate in the dinner.
In the morning, the Deputy Minister of National Defense Nikos Hardalias and the A/GETHA General Konstantinos Floros welcomed the US Deputy Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Celeste Wallander, at the port of Alexandroupolis.
With the US announcing an additional $100 million in financial aid and logistical assistance for Turkey's earthquake victims and asking Ankara to change its stance on NATO enlargement, Cavusoglu in a press conference with Anthony Blinken stressed that the enlargement it should not be linked to the F-16 issue that Turkey wants.
“We discussed the latest developments regarding the F-16 request in our meeting today. The US government strongly supports this request. We thank her for that. We hope for an official briefing to Congress on this issue as soon as possible and it is in the interest of both sides to complete the process as soon as possible," added the head of Turkish diplomacy.
Anthony Blinken, for his part, after reminding that relations with Turkey go back to the time of the Ottoman Empire in 1831, emphasized that the US appreciates the fact that Turkey is trying to de-escalate tension with various countries.
"We greatly appreciate the positive steps that Turkey is taking in order to improve its relations with Greece, Armenia and Israel," he said characteristically.
Regarding the issue of the F-16s, of course, the American foreign minister essentially referred to Congress again, stressing: "On this specific issue, I do not have a specific timetable to announce to you until we officially inform Congress."
The head of American diplomacy before flying to Athens finally met with Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Nikos Dendias at the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels informed his counterparts about the situation in Turkey and how it can be supported in this difficult time: "We have to discuss today a number of important issues, such as for Ukraine, the rights of women in Afghanistan, but also issues raised by climate change and the enormous challenge of environmental protection.
But beyond that, I will have the opportunity, right from the start, to inform my colleagues about my visit to the earthquake-affected areas of Turkey and, beyond that, to discuss how we can stand by the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. I'm sorry to say, it was a biblical disaster, unprecedented. Consequently, a huge amount of help and a huge amount of support is needed."
