Dendias says Turkey is expanding its claims against Greece

Greece’s national security strategy was at the center of Defense Minister Nikos Dendias’s speech during the conference “Post-Junta Era 1974–2024: 50 Years of Greek Foreign Policy.” Dendias provided a comprehensive assessment of the past while addressing the challenges the country faces in foreign policy and defense.

The defense minister discussed Turkey, emphasizing that “Ankara’s deviation from its European perspective became evident in the early 2010s.” He further noted that “if Turkey had accepted the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, most problems would have been resolved.” He added that “Turkey is gradually expanding its list of demands against our homeland” and stressed that “while dialogue with Turkey is necessary, it must always involve rejecting the unacceptable aspects of Turkey’s positions, such as the casus belli threat.”

The speech also touched on Turkey’s attempts to strategically isolate Greece at sea, as seen through its relations with Egypt during the Morsi government and the Turkey-Libya maritime memorandum. Dendias described Greece’s subsequent agreement with Egypt as an “extremely beneficial compromise” that “undermined Ankara’s claims about our lack of seriousness.”

The minister also highlighted the strategy of the first Mitsotakis administration, which focused on bilateral agreements with countries such as France, the United States and the United Arab Emirates, while strengthening ties with Israel and Bahrain.

Source: pagenews.gr