Erdogan expanding scope of threat
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is further elaborating his expansionist ideology at the expense of Greece, according to a Turkish political analyst in comments to Kathimerini, in the wake of his statements last week at a press conference at the close of the G20 summit.
In particular, apart from the “Blue Homeland” doctrine which envisages large swathes of the Mediterranean as being under Turkish influence and the long-standing threat of war against Greece, Erdogan has now established the motto that “we will come suddenly one night” as an official doctrine.
“This is becoming an official ideology and doctrine in Turkey, and this demands great attention,” the unnamed analyst said.
These intentions were abundantly clear when Erdogan was asked by a reporter from Turkey’s state broadcaster in the Indonesian resort of Bali to comment on Greece’s “aggressive stance” in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean.
“What I always say is that ‘we may come suddenly one night.’ That is our basic principle. It is a definitive saying that cannot be revoked, it is a basic principle,” Erdogan responded.
The Bali summit was the fourth time since September that the Turkish president has issued that particular threat of a military operation against Greece.
However, unlike on previous occasions, some believe that this time he is making it clear that the threat is a fundamental tenet of Turkish defense and foreign policy.
So far, Ankara’s threat of war concerned the possibility of Greece extending its territorial waters in the Aegean.
The difference now is that Erdogan’s statement opens up the scope of the threat and can be used for any issue that makes Ankara feel entitled to carry out a military operation against or invasion of Greece.
