The background of Panayotopoulos’s meeting with Akar – The Mitsotakis moves, the Sullivan-Kalin talks, the role of Stoltenberg and Berlin and the “next day” in Greek-Turkish.
With the catalytic intervention of Washington, through talks that took place during the Berlin meeting last Wednesday, the US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and the advisor to the Turkish President Ibrahim Kalin, paved the way for the effort to “unload” the Greeks. which was captured in the short four-legged Panagiotopoulos – Akar in Brussels.
The mobilization of the United States, but also of other “players”, such as NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Berlin, was not the product of an “autopilot”. It was the result of a series of moves by Prime Minister Mr. Mitsotakis in the foreground, but also in the background, which resulted in clarifying the dangers of Ankara’s escalating aggressive rhetoric, as well as the need to create a channel of communication between the two sides to control tensions and prevent the possibility of an “incident” in the area. The fact that the Prime Minister diligently avoided Athens getting involved in a ping pong of extreme rhetoric with the other side also contributed in the same direction.
In the light of the above, from the moment that under the weight of US persuasions Ankara appeared ready to hold the Akar-Panagiotopoulos meeting, Mr. Mitsotakis immediately gave the “green light” for the positive response from the Greek ministry. Defense. It is also clear that for Athens it remains crucial that the channels of communication between the two countries remain open, a position that is reflected in the almost identical leaks of the staffs of Mr. Panagiotopoulos and Akar, which are clear that in relation to the Greek Ministry of National Defense under the guidance and in perfect coordination with the Maximos Palace.
According to other sources, apart from the decisive role of the USA, in the effort to get the Greek-Turkish relations out of the “ice”, as mentioned above, the secretary general also contributed indirectly. of NATO Jens Stoltenberg. The positions that the secretary general has taken lately. NATO on the situation in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean have rightly caused discomfort to the entire political world. However, his “understanding” stance on Turkish objections to Sweden and Finland joining NATO seems to have increased his access to the Turkish president. At the same time, the Americans are not alone in their attempt to “cancel” any implementation of the Turkish threats in the Aegean, but, according to well-informed sources, they are moving in consultation with the Germans. This trend was seen in the Berlin pentagon a few days ago, but also in the background at the diplomatic and political level within NATO.
Of course, it is obvious that in the aftermath of the Panagiotopoulos-Akar meeting, Athens is holding a “small basket” for the next day in Greek-Turkish relations. The main goal is a “quiet summer”, without large-scale military exercises, illegal NAVTEX and “exits” of research ships in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean or – in other words – to return to “calm waters”, as the Prime Minister said. from Nicosia.
Well-informed sources stressed that the Panagiotopoulos-Akar four had three key points: first, to reduce the inflammatory tones in the rhetoric as much as possible. Second, stop overflights. And thirdly, for tourism to work for both sides of the Aegean, which they need this summer for financial reasons.
It is noted that the most optimistic do not rule out as a “next step” of the latest developments, even a brief meeting of Mr. Mitsotakis and Mr. Erdogan at the NATO summit on the 29th and 30th of the month in Madrid, despite the fact that the Turkish president remains firm that he does not want further contacts with the Prime Minister. He had taken similar positions in the past, but then changed his mind. However, Mr. Erdogan continues to insist on high tones and, in fact, for Athens, the prevailing scenario is that he will not back down from the inflammatory rhetoric. This fact creates complications, as efforts will be made at the same time to operate the Panagiotopoulos – Akar bus as a safety valve. The equation is difficult and Athens knows it, expecting that if the Turkey-US divergence between Finland and Sweden is confirmed in Madrid, things can get stressful again.
It is worth noting that the Panagiotopoulos-Akar bus in Greek-Turkish was deemed to be the most reliable for a number of reasons, most notably the lack of others, which under normal circumstances had to operate.
• First of all, at the moment there is no most important between Mr. Mitsotakis and Mr. Erdogan, due to the refusal of the latter to discuss.
• At the level of Foreign Ministers Mevlüt Tsavousoglu and Nikos Dendias, there is also the problem that the specific weight of the Turkish Foreign Minister is clearly less than that of Mr. Akar.
• At the level of diplomatic advisers, the channel between Ibrahim Kalin and Anna-Maria Boura is not yet operational. Efforts are being made to consolidate it, but for now without tangible results.
The leaders of the two countries’ Armed Forces also do not talk, which is unusual for the long history of military contacts, even in the worst phases of the past.
It is noted, finally, that Mr. Panagiotopoulos and Mr. Akar, even after their brief meeting in Brussels, exchanged text messages in order to confirm that communication between them will continue. At the same time, their staffs were consulting so that even the announcements about the meeting could be made public with almost identical formulations.
Diplomatic fever does not interfere at all with the preparations for the promotion of pending matters concerning armaments. The process for the selection of new corvettes is expected to proceed in the coming days, with two offers being at the top of the Navy’s preferences.
At the Ministry of National Defense – with the support of the Maximos Palace – there is a significant effort in order to advance the cooperation with the Germans in the context of the co-production of “Leopard” type tanks, which so far is progressing slowly due to unrelated reactions. Greek-German relations. In the coming days, Mr. Panagiotopoulos is expected to inform the Parliament about a series of important sub-programs, mainly the upgrade of 38 F-16 bl. 50, but also the resolution of the “Gordian knot” of the fixation of the C-130 transport fleet of the Air Force.
