Greek moves on an unstable chessboard
The conflict in the Middle East has brought back into public discourse this oft-constructed and inaccurate dilemma about the West versus the “others.” Greece is positioned without much effort on the side of the “West,” an impulse that is largely correct, but not accurate in many respects.
First, Greece is historically part of the Eastern Mediterranean and the delicate and changing balances that distinguish this part of the world. North Africa and the Middle East are not some hotspots of trouble, as they are perceived in Washington, Berlin, Paris and London, but regions of unrest on the other side of our fence.
The prime minister’s tour in the region (Egypt and Israel) was, obviously, an attempt to feel out the new conditions. For Greece, there is a very real risk that the policy of opening to the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean through tripartite cooperation deals will suffer a serious blow. The two central agreements were Greece’s partnerships with Cyprus with Israel and Egypt. Based on these agreements, further openings were made in a wider area, reaching from the shores of the Mediterranean to Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.
For Greece, there is a very real risk that the policy of opening to the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean through tripartite cooperation deals will suffer a serious blow
If we add to this tripartite system the (politically dead?) Abraham Accords between Israel and a number of Arab countries, the attempt to create multilateral security networks becomes clear.
All this is now up in the air. Therefore, Greece may have to move somewhat more creatively, in an admittedly very difficult situation for establishing new balances. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies are being questioned at home, even amid the war. Israel’s domestic affairs are, of course, another matter. We should not forgot that during the roughly one year when he wasn’t in government, talks between Israel and Turkey resumed, simply because this is the ingrained trend in Israeli foreign policy: Turkey is irreplaceable for a number of reasons.
Israel’s domestic affairs do not concern Greece. However, what is a purely Greek affair is the reaction to the possible collapse of the new architecture built in the region. Greek diplomacy has the experience and understanding of the region to find the necessary solutions – now that the situation is still confusing and the new reality has not been formed.
