A year has passed since the "Athens Declaration on Friendly Relations and Good-Neighbourliness" between Turkey and Greece when the leaders of both states projected their determination to "foster friendly relations, mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and understanding, and to resolve any dispute among them by peaceful means and in accordance with international law." A year after, Turkey is far from binding by international law or eliminating unwarranted tensions. Meanwhile, Greece remains loyal to cultivating a "positive agenda" despite evident Turkish provocations professing its neo-Ottoman aspirations.
Diplomacy is the quintessence of international affairs and an indispensable factor when tensed bilateral relations occur. In that regard, diplomacy should be conducted with a caveat especially when the promotion of a "positive agenda" is one sided. The latter is a case in point for Greece's PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis' adherence to retaining the policy of "calm waters", a term that signifies the desirable outcome should both parties implement the Declaration altogether.
A merit of this rapprochement for the Greek side is the decrease of Athens' FIR violations by Turkish jets and thus the possibilities of a military tension. However, Turkey's revisionist aspirations never ceased to be expressed verbally or pragmatically: over the Aegean Sea by denying Greece's sovereignty according to UNCLOS; in Cyprus by continuing the illegal occupation; in Syria by invading and occupying Syrian territories and promoting terrorism while celebrating the advancement of Jihadism. Meanwhile, Turkey eyes Jerusalem by threatening the Jewish state and above all its part in fostering global terrorism and undertaking the role of the patron of Hamas. In other words, as Turkey is distancing itself from the Western values and is violating every article of international and humanitarian law while working diligently to enhance its presence in the Middle East and Northern Africa via training terrorists and trading arms for influence, Greece adheres to International law and remains loyal to the Declaration and the "calm waters" policy.
Greece's differences with Turkey are not closely bilateral. They are incorporated into a bigger picture that Greece omits to underscore in the spirit of the "calm waters". Greece is a status quo power; a close US ally; an EU and NATO member. Meanwhile, Turkey does not fulfill EU fundamental criteria; It has expressed its willingness to join BRICS while is flirting with the Shanghai cooperation.
In a regional subsystem that undergoes cataclysmic changes and ahead of the new Trump presidency, Greece's posture is questionable. While Greece promotes to the international arena, Turkey's efforts to ameliorate the Greco-Turkish relations, in essence, what Athens achieves is to serve Turkey's goal of being seen as the honest broker and a reliable actor in the international arena.
As these lines are written, Turkey celebrates the toppling of Assad. Having backed the "rebels," Turkey comes out stronger, willing to undertake the role of the leader in the Arab world in the frame of reviving its Neo Ottoman empire. Kurds and Syrian Christians are holding their breath for the day after.
In an era where new alliances are formed, Greece must adjust its strategy and step in to safeguard its interests. As long as Greece "omits" to speak about the Turkish "casus belli" or the fact that Turkey's actions in the Eastern Mediterranean are against the Western interests, Ankara enjoys Athens' trust thus raising eyebrows if the current Greek foreign policy rebrands appeasement under the cloak of good neighborliness.
