Professor of International Relations at Panteion University and a member of ELIAMEP, Alexis Herakleidis, argues that that Turkey has «legitimate» rights in the Aegean Sea and that Greece should be willing to recognize them!
In an interview with Turkish journalist Ahmet Gencturk for the Turkish state news agency Anadolu, the professor emphasized that «Greece should be willing to recognize Turkey’s legitimate rights and interests in the Aegean.”.
A lack of information, misinformation, and misconceptions about Turkey are widespread and deeply entrenched among both decision-makers and ordinary people in Greece. One of the consequences of this situation is that Greeks believe the Aegean Sea belongs exclusively to them.
He does not, however, fail to «give Turkey a nod,» emphasizing that there are «level-headed, objective people within the Greek bureaucracy who know that most narratives about Turkey are inaccurate and that good relations will benefit both countries».
The professor doesn't stop there, but goes on to accuse the Greek media of «play a role in shaping the image of Turkey as a neo-Ottoman, expansionist power that wants to invade Greece».
To justify this, however, he notes that «they cite, for example, speeches by President Erdoğan, Turkish Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu, or Turkish Defense Minister Akar out of context, and as a result fuel skepticism or hostile sentiments toward themthem and Turkey in general.».
In the same vein, however, the professor emphasized that the EastMed pipeline is «dead» and that the best solution for transporting natural gas is «to find a solution in Cyprus» so that the pipeline can run from there to Turkey. Which is exactly what Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is trying to achieve.
My interview with Alexis Heraclides on the history, present, and future of Turkish-Greek relations: https://t.co/AgSIdOmILl
— Ahmet Gencturk (@AhmetGencturk11) March 28, 2022
