Everything shows that in the near future Turkey will drill in the Cypriot EEZ, will attempt to create aeronautical bases in the occupied territories, without ruling out at the same time a hot episode with Greece in the Aegean.
“Retired Turkish Vice-Admiral assessed Ankara-Athens relations”, is the title of an International Media article, which hosts the views of the Turkish flying Vice-Admiral H.E. Beyazıt Karataş, on the subject, the main points of which are the following:
“At a time when Turkey-Greece relations were strained once again with mutual statements, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the suspension of talks with Athens.
The two NATO members resumed talks last year after a five-year hiatus in an effort to resolve differences of opinion and other bilateral disputes in the Mediterranean. Speaking at a party meeting recently, Erdogan said Turkey had canceled its bilateral cooperation platform with Greece, called the High-Level Strategic Council.
Mehr News Agency conducted an interview with retired Lt. Gen. Beyazıt Karataş on the matter.
1. The Cyprus issue, the tensions in the islands of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean bring the administrations of Athens and Ankara against each other. At a time when relations between Turkey and Greece were strained once again with mutual statements, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the suspension of talks with Athens. What kind of process awaits Turkish-Greek relations from now on?
I will try to answer your questions about Cyprus, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean, which are of vital importance to Turkey and are so intertwined that they cannot be separated. However, it is important to review some information about the historical developments in Cyprus for a better understanding of the matter.
With the Akrita Plan, which supported the end of British colonialism, which broke the “status quo” on the island, and the union of Cyprus and Greece, i.e. the Union, on April 1, 1955, Cypriots supported Greece to completely destroy the Turks , who were the original owners of the island, since 1570. The National Organization of Struggle of Cypriots (EOKA), the far-right nationalist and ruthless organization of Greek Cypriots, launched armed actions.
The Turkish Cypriots founded the Turkish Resistance Organization (TMT) to be able to resist the EOKA, which carried out massacres, and to ensure their own security of life and property. The Cyprus Crisis ended temporarily with the Zurich and London Treaties of 1959 and the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus on August 16, 1960.
The massacres and attacks against our Turkish Cypriot compatriots by Greek Cypriots and Greece, who did not abandon the UNITY idea and claimed that the island belonged only to them, between 1960-1974 continued to increase. Finally, these tensions ended with the peacekeeping operation in Cyprus on July 20, 1974.
On November 15, 1983, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was founded under the leadership of President Rauf Denktas, putting an end to the suffering of the Turks. However, US and EU imperialist designs began to try other ways in Cyprus, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean.
This was followed by the integration of Greek Cypriots into the EU and their invitation to informal NATO meetings and dinners, the discovery of new hydrocarbon deposits in the Eastern Mediterranean and the production of policies that exclude Turkey and the TRNC, ignoring the TRNC from the international community, as if the only owner of the island was the Greeks, the continuation of the policies practiced, the defense of the Greek positions in the Aegean, especially with the support of the USA, and the fact that Greece almost became with the American bases that it has on its territory the “51st US State”
When it appeared that it was not possible for now to negotiate physically with the current Greek government as a result of bad and arrogant political practices and rhetoric, which handed over all its sovereignty to the US, which became a puppet state, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that the talks with Athens were interrupted.
With the Treaty of Lausanne and Paris and the arming of the Aegean islands, which should be demilitarized, by Greece, using some “NATO and EU funds”, the country in question clearly violated the existing treaties and brought into question the sovereignty rights of the islands. ,
Turkey will ask to be registered in the United Nations, as well as the disputes on sea and air issues in the Aegean. It will continue to act in accordance with the rules of international law and use diplomatic channels to reach a just settlement. The use of military force should be on the table as a last resort, but Turkey’s patience should not be over-tested.
Turkey due to the fact that it has the longest sea border in the Eastern Mediterranean, should continue its oil exploration and drilling activities without interruption, and act in a way that does not challenge the practices and policies that are being attempted, ignoring the rights itself and the TRNC.
2 Can you evaluate the positions of Greece and Turkey in terms of their legal or political dimensions? Can Ankara fail in Athens’ claims?
Retired Vice Admiral Cem Gürdeniz said: “The geopolitical existence of the TRNC cannot be separated from the Turkish Straits and the Blue Homeland. Regardless of the mandates of the Atlantic Alliance, Turkey must keep its geopolitical future secure.
Imperialism does not want Turkey to go out to sea and become the dominant player in maritime geopolitics. The federal settlement fraud will continue. The purpose is to expel the Turkish soldier, i.e. our second navy, to the island. The other goal is to push Turkey inland. By losing the TRNC, Turkey is losing the Mediterranean.” In line with its determination, it should continue to pursue policies that will not be compromised and neglected.
Turkey faces significant historic opportunities to advance the TRNC. Turkey should not delay establishing naval and air bases in the TRNC. Since the mentality of the Greek Cypriot duo, which started in Cyprus in 1955 and wants to connect the island with Greece, will not change, the best course of action is the “two state” solution.
From the above, it is clear that the retired Turkish Vice Admiral insists on the 2-state solution in Cyprus, with the immediate creation of air bases in the occupied territories, connecting as a single issue the geopolitical existence of the pseudo-state with the Turkish Straits and the “Blue Homeland”.
Stands for Turkey’s continuation of oil exploration and drilling activities in the SE Mediterranean without interruption
He talks about the possibility of military involvement between Turkey and Greece if the patience of Ankara is tested, while he attacks the Greek government that due to its arrogant political practices and rhetoric, which surrendered all the sovereignty of Greece to the USA, and became its puppet state, it was she who led President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to announce that talks with Athens were being suspended
We close by pointing out the position of the Turkish retiree, that imperialism does not want Turkey to go out to sea but to be pushed inland
All this shows that in the near future Turkey will conduct drilling in the Cypriot EEZ, will attempt to create aeronautical bases in the occupied territories, without excluding at the same time a hot episode with Greece in the Aegean
