On the alert as borders shift
United States President George W. Bush’s tour of the Balkans, the visit by NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer to Turkey and the surprise remarks yesterday by UN chief Ban Ki-moon – that the organization’s peacekeeping force in divided Cyprus over the past 43 years should not be taken for granted – are a reminder that the situation in our broader region remains volatile and that the large powers may want to settle the outstanding disputes in the area in ways that are not in Athens’s interest. Greek diplomats must react in a decisive manner. Perhaps they lack the power to decide the final solutions but they are definitely in a position to influence them. Greece’s Foreign Ministry must be on the alert. Greece cannot afford not to be vigilant when even the neighborhood’s borders are shifting.