Greece-Turkey conflict unlikely

Turkey’s military chief of staff, General Yasar Buyukanit, shares views on hot topics in interview with Kathimerini

By Giorgios P. Malouchos - Kathimerini

He is the most talked-about figure of the day. In Turkey itself and among those who follow international politics in the USA and Europe, observers are anxious to know what stance will he take, both on the attempt to create a Kurdish state in Iraq and on the presidential elections in Ankara.

Kathimerini met with the Turkish chief of staff, General Yasar Buyukanit, the first Turkish military leader to have come not once but three times to Greece. He was in Thessaloniki last week for the first meeting of the Balkan states’ chiefs of staff.

He spoke to Kathimerini about issues of bilateral and international importance on which his opinions bear considerable weight and which may surprise many in many respects. It was an extremely interesting experience that dispels any stereotypes about the man who is seen as the leader of the deep state. It reinforces the feeling that he is one of the most reliable interlocutors Greece can have when Turkey is seeking its way. He is above all the person who can guarantee to curb both any friction and any external consequences it may have.