The 19th of May 2019 is a day of remembrance. One hundred years ago, Kemal Ataturk embarked on the second and most attrocious phase of exterminating the Greek inhabitants of the area in Northern Turkey known as “Pontos”, due to its proximity to the Black Sea.
The horror and the tragedy is still alive in the memory of Pontian Greeks wherever they live today.
In addition to honoring the dead it is important to ask some questions regarding the future of Greek – Turkish relations and the stability of the Eastern Mediterranean.
For the dominant power of the western world USA, the strategic importance of Turkey as a buffer between the Middle East – and its oil reserves – and the Soviet Union relegated Greece to a nice little country that had to “suck it up” when it came to any conflict with the Turks.
When communism collapsed, Turkey continued to play the role of the buffer, albeit against a different type of threat.
The Greek politicians were not able to resist this state of affairs, and they just accepted this as something given, as something inevitable.
Greek Foreign Policy continued to be unproductive, riddled with the emptiness that characterizes a satellite country.
It is only today, that Turkey displays signs of embracing Russia, that the whole status quo is questioned by Americans and Europeans alike.
At the same time, the natural gas reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean have provided a promising platform for cooperation between countries.
I am referring primarily to the cooperation between Greece and Israel.
This is a golden opportunity for Greece to embark on a new foreign policy that is based on Greek Interests and Alliances that face the future of the region and the Turkish threat.
Greek Foreigh Policy needs to be assertive and uncompromising when it comes to Turkey. And the only way to back this up, is with military might.
The 1974 events in Cyprus remind us of the simple and bitter truth that military might rules in the Eastern Mediterranean and will continue to do so for many years to come.
It is time for Greece to realize that Turkey believes in and practices only the Diplomacy of Power, and prepare herself for the worst.
“If you want Peace, you have to prepare for War.”
The good news is that Greece can have a strong ally in this, and I am not talking about the US or Europe.
Without a military force, Europe is weak, as the Crimean annexation by Russia has shown to the world. Bu they can support the funding required for the strengthening of the Greek Armed Forces.
US Foreign Policy is today confused. Having invested so much over so many years in Tureky, it is only natural not to accept that all this investment has evaporated and that Turkey in the long term is a lost case for the West.
The strong ally that Greece can have and should have is Israel, and working together the two countries may provide the US with the necessary “push” to revise its policy towards Turkey.
All this requires a lot of hard work, persistence and determination, but is is worth it.
It is up to the Greek people to send the relevant message to the Greek political parties and their leaders.