The recent the events of July in Cyprus, to be realistic, they are a a great diplomatic defeat for our country. Ο Erdogan, along with his henchman Tatar, declared that the settlement of 3,5% of the city of Varosha under Turkish Cypriot administration and called on the Greek Cypriots, through the “property committee”, as they call it, which operates in Varosha, to take their properties, which is a misrepresentation and contradicts the decisions of the Security Council of the United Nations.
We have heard the moving statements of our Prime Minister, but we are dry with tears, since the tactics of compliance that the government has followed over the last two years ,which also affected the Cyprus problem, we have reached this unpleasant result for the Greek colours. A result that we knew, since Erdogan had announced it many months ago.
What I haven't figured out is because every time we have to run behind developments, as was the case with the Turcolibria agreement. And why then, each time after the fact, ask for UN intervention for formal legal reasons rather than substantive ones for the implementation of the international law. Somebody tell us, when were the UN resolutions on the Cyprus problem implemented?; 47 years have passed and no decision has been implemented. On the contrary, at the Geneva Conference, Guterres himself tried to mine the decisions of the Security Council by promoting Turkish interests for two independent states in Cyprus. So many successive EU summits have passed, and the gentlemen Mitsotakis and Anastasiades, they never wanted to rock the boat in Germany by putting Veto, both for the economic Turkish privileges and for the human rights which are brutally violated by the Erdogan regime. It is good to remember those notorious EU economic sanctions against Turkey which became “rag paper” for transfer from table to table and eventually ended up in the wastepaper basket.
Now, we have statements of support from the EU, the US, France, Israel, Great Britain and Russia. However, if they are not linked to strict pressure measures in Turkey, they are a comfort to the sick. We also saw the German anaemic reaction that basically pampers Erdogan. And others will possibly follow, from various countries friendly to Greece and Cyprus. Let's not kid ourselves, the great powers of the EU (essentially Germany) and the USA found our country weak economically and defensively with a weak government that does not know the word ”no”, fearful, that does them all the favours because of weakness, without having any real benefits, to play their own interests at our expense.
What we may know, yet we follow opposite logics, is that the Cyprus problem is a major strategic issue for Turkey, both for its security, as it claims, and for the control of the South-Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East. Cyprus is a geostrategic point in the heart of the Mediterranean. Whoever holds it controls the region with all that this implies. Turkey has always wanted to invade Cyprus and the reason for this was given by the Greek Hun ”betrayal” of 1974, but the Cyprus file was never opened. Its design was and is the annexation of the north to Turkey and this will be achieved by the creation of two independent states in Cyprus. They have transferred so many settlers in the past years, so with a false referendum, as happened with the election of Tatar, they will incorporate the northern part into Turkey.. However, they don't want the southern part to be in Greek hands for many reasons and they will see to that next, finding some reason, which they will cause themselves, if we the clever ones don't give it to them. This will be the main mission of the drone base they will create.
We see that Turkey's strategic plan is not an invention of Erdogan. It is the deeply engraved national strategy of, which step by step and with its constant rhetoric, is approaching its goals in Cyprus. The very same national strategy is being attempted in the Aegean regardless of its leadership. Let's not delude ourselves that if Erdogan falls we will have a change of course for Turkey. Erdogan is simply trying to realize his vision (his childhood dream) because of the global political instability, the circumstances of our economy, his impulsive character, while feeling that he is superior to Greece defensively in the present period of time. He reinforces and promotes with his almost daily rhetoric, his aspirations in the Aegean, gradually bending the opposing logics of international bases and world powers, taking advantage of Turkey's geostrategic position, so that to impose a fait accompli against us and more. Our country, by correctly invoking international law, the law of the sea and the resolutions of the UN Security Council, is trying to defend itself. However, does the government not understand that these alone are not enough? Does it not understand that having all these as a basis of policy, the tactical formula it follows and applies is wrong because of the result ? ;
Doesn't our political system see these things? When will we finally come to an understanding with each other, To implement a national strategy for all issues affecting the security of our country and Cyprus regardless of the government of the day?; What happened to that infamous National Security Council that was left to words?;
I want to hope that the government has learned its lessons from its mistakes, and from now on, with the agreement of the other parties in parliament, it will implement a different policy mix that will guarantee the vital interests of Greece and the Republic of Cyprus.
By George Sp. Tsitsilianos
