> Greeks are acutely aware that the NATO alliance they both belong to did not prevent the seizure of Cyprus’s north in 1974.
Oh yes the seizure caused by Greece being under a military junta which wanted to take the whole island as it’s own, and it’s membership with NATO was just a honorary seat at that point in time. (No one really legitimized the Greek junta as a true government)
Who would run, or enact Article 5 to stop the “injustice” caused by an incompetent military junta? Hint: Nobody. Greeks are very selective about which part of this matter they decide to remember, and how.
Expecting NATO to go and cover for countries when they turn into fascism is quite a rich as a demand. Neither the EU will be saving countries which resort to militaristic rule when they enact aggressive moves and they find out the results.
Ήδη έχω αρχίσει να περπατάω ζωηρά γύρο από την πολυκατοικία και να κάνω διατάσεις. Πιστεύω μέχρι να αρχίσει να είμαι έτοιμος.
>>Speaking in Greek Parliament on March 1, Prime Minister KyriakosMitsotakis called Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukrainea “clear violation” of the United Nations Charter in an attempt to“abolish the freedom of another country”.
>
>Maria Zakharova, Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, calledGreece’s decision to send weapons to Ukraine “deeply mistaken” and“criminal”, warning that “in the end, the weapons will be turned oncivilians, including the Greeks”, a reference to 150,000 ethnic GreekUkrainians mainly in Ukraine’s besieged cities of Mariupol and Odesa.
>
>Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov caused alarm in Greece onFebruary 21, when he drew a parallel between the Russian separatistsfighting in Ukraine’s Donbas region, and the ethnic Turks of theself-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
>
>“Look at Cyprus. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has beenunilaterally proclaimed in the north. It refuses to abide by UN SecurityCouncil resolutions, but no one is denying the representatives ofNorthern Cyprus the right to be part of the dialogue,” Lavrov said,arguing that the Russians of Donbas should have had the same diplomaticprivilege.
>
>Turkey seized the northern third of Cyprus in 1974, in response to acoup that sought to annex the Mediterranean island to Greece, and hassince established a state financially dependent on Ankara.
>
>Both Turkey and Russia justify their invasions as protection for ethnic minorities.
>
>“Putin considers that there is no Ukraine. [TurkishPresident Recep Tayyip] Erdogan doesn’t believe there is a CyprusRepublic,” said Deputy Education Minister Angelos Syrigos, who is anassociate professor of international law.
>
>Lavrov’s reference to Northern Cyprus without the standard qualifiers“self-styled” or “so-called” raised concern over whether Russia wascontemplating changing that position.
>
>“If Russia has crossed the Rubicon to such an extent to even talk aboutthe TRNC, which is illegally occupied for 48 years against UN SecurityCouncil resolutions and against the consistent position Russia has hadfor 48 years, I don’t know what to say,” Konstantinos Filis, who directsthe Institute for Global Affairs at the American College of Greece,told Al Jazeera.
>
>Russia’s relations with Turkey are different. Turkey has notparticipated in sanctions imposed by the United States, the EuropeanUnion and the United Kingdom against Russia, keeping its airspace opento Russian civilian airliners and maintaining trade and bankingrelations.
>
>Russia has been courting Turkey in an apparent effort to weaken NATO, of which Turkey is a member.
>
>In 2018, it persuaded Erdogan to buy S-400 surface-to-air missiles,which led the US to bar Turkey from buying its F-35 multirole combatjet.
>
>Turkey has also facilitated the sale of Russian gas to Europe,becoming the landing point for the two Turkstream pipelines in 2019,which aim to deliver 130 billion cubic metres of Russian gas a year tosoutheast Europe.
>
>Turkstream replaced Southstream, which was originally to land inBulgaria. Strong US and EU pressure on the Bulgarian government led tothe cancellation of Southstream in 2014.
>
>Beyond the strategic collaborations between Russia and Turkey,Syrigos argued there also are other similarities between the twocountries’ leaders.
>
>“Putin regrets the dissolution of the Soviet Union and wants torecreate it. Erdogan regrets the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire andwants to revive it,” he said.
>
>Syrigos also said as Putin demands demilitarisation ofUkraine, Erdogan demands demilitarisation of Greece’s eastern AegeanIslands, and recently questioned Greece’s sovereignty over them.
>
>“Our islands cannot be demilitarised. They have to be armed to theteeth, to avoid tempting someone to enter … Erdogan’s takeaway [fromUkraine] is that ‘if I make a move, I’ll get slapped with some economicsanctions, but I’ll cut a deal’.”
>
>Greeks are acutely aware that the NATO alliance they both belong to did not prevent the seizure of Cyprus’s north in 1974.
>
>Partly for this reason, Greece and Cyprus have traditionally toppedEurobarometer polls in favour of a common EU foreign and defence policy.
3 comments
> Greeks are acutely aware that the NATO alliance they both belong to did not prevent the seizure of Cyprus’s north in 1974.
Oh yes the seizure caused by Greece being under a military junta which wanted to take the whole island as it’s own, and it’s membership with NATO was just a honorary seat at that point in time. (No one really legitimized the Greek junta as a true government)
Who would run, or enact Article 5 to stop the “injustice” caused by an incompetent military junta? Hint: Nobody. Greeks are very selective about which part of this matter they decide to remember, and how.
Expecting NATO to go and cover for countries when they turn into fascism is quite a rich as a demand. Neither the EU will be saving countries which resort to militaristic rule when they enact aggressive moves and they find out the results.
Ήδη έχω αρχίσει να περπατάω ζωηρά γύρο από την πολυκατοικία και να κάνω διατάσεις. Πιστεύω μέχρι να αρχίσει να είμαι έτοιμος.
>>Speaking in Greek Parliament on March 1, Prime Minister KyriakosMitsotakis called Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukrainea “clear violation” of the United Nations Charter in an attempt to“abolish the freedom of another country”.
>
>Maria Zakharova, Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, calledGreece’s decision to send weapons to Ukraine “deeply mistaken” and“criminal”, warning that “in the end, the weapons will be turned oncivilians, including the Greeks”, a reference to 150,000 ethnic GreekUkrainians mainly in Ukraine’s besieged cities of Mariupol and Odesa.
>
>Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov caused alarm in Greece onFebruary 21, when he drew a parallel between the Russian separatistsfighting in Ukraine’s Donbas region, and the ethnic Turks of theself-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
>
>“Look at Cyprus. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has beenunilaterally proclaimed in the north. It refuses to abide by UN SecurityCouncil resolutions, but no one is denying the representatives ofNorthern Cyprus the right to be part of the dialogue,” Lavrov said,arguing that the Russians of Donbas should have had the same diplomaticprivilege.
>
>Turkey seized the northern third of Cyprus in 1974, in response to acoup that sought to annex the Mediterranean island to Greece, and hassince established a state financially dependent on Ankara.
>
>Both Turkey and Russia justify their invasions as protection for ethnic minorities.
>
>“Putin considers that there is no Ukraine. [TurkishPresident Recep Tayyip] Erdogan doesn’t believe there is a CyprusRepublic,” said Deputy Education Minister Angelos Syrigos, who is anassociate professor of international law.
>
>Lavrov’s reference to Northern Cyprus without the standard qualifiers“self-styled” or “so-called” raised concern over whether Russia wascontemplating changing that position.
>
>“If Russia has crossed the Rubicon to such an extent to even talk aboutthe TRNC, which is illegally occupied for 48 years against UN SecurityCouncil resolutions and against the consistent position Russia has hadfor 48 years, I don’t know what to say,” Konstantinos Filis, who directsthe Institute for Global Affairs at the American College of Greece,told Al Jazeera.
>
>Russia’s relations with Turkey are different. Turkey has notparticipated in sanctions imposed by the United States, the EuropeanUnion and the United Kingdom against Russia, keeping its airspace opento Russian civilian airliners and maintaining trade and bankingrelations.
>
>Russia has been courting Turkey in an apparent effort to weaken NATO, of which Turkey is a member.
>
>In 2018, it persuaded Erdogan to buy S-400 surface-to-air missiles,which led the US to bar Turkey from buying its F-35 multirole combatjet.
>
>Turkey has also facilitated the sale of Russian gas to Europe,becoming the landing point for the two Turkstream pipelines in 2019,which aim to deliver 130 billion cubic metres of Russian gas a year tosoutheast Europe.
>
>Turkstream replaced Southstream, which was originally to land inBulgaria. Strong US and EU pressure on the Bulgarian government led tothe cancellation of Southstream in 2014.
>
>Beyond the strategic collaborations between Russia and Turkey,Syrigos argued there also are other similarities between the twocountries’ leaders.
>
>“Putin regrets the dissolution of the Soviet Union and wants torecreate it. Erdogan regrets the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire andwants to revive it,” he said.
>
>Syrigos also said as Putin demands demilitarisation ofUkraine, Erdogan demands demilitarisation of Greece’s eastern AegeanIslands, and recently questioned Greece’s sovereignty over them.
>
>“Our islands cannot be demilitarised. They have to be armed to theteeth, to avoid tempting someone to enter … Erdogan’s takeaway [fromUkraine] is that ‘if I make a move, I’ll get slapped with some economicsanctions, but I’ll cut a deal’.”
>
>Greeks are acutely aware that the NATO alliance they both belong to did not prevent the seizure of Cyprus’s north in 1974.
>
>Partly for this reason, Greece and Cyprus have traditionally toppedEurobarometer polls in favour of a common EU foreign and defence policy.