Ankara claims taking back seat, for now
In the wake of the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey on February 6, the government in Ankara seems to have shelved its claims against Greece and is keeping a low profile regarding Greek-Turkish relations, which are, at least for now, not high on the election agenda in the neighboring country.
If anything, officials speak of the need for dialogue and consultations with Greece, with Turkey’s Defense Minister Hulusi Akar expressing Ankara’s desire for “fair sharing of the wealth of the Aegean.”
However, analysts are quick to note that the maps and letters Ankara has sent to the UN that deny the right of Greek islands to a continental shelf and challenge the sovereignty of militarized Greek islands are still there.
Tellingly, a recent full-page article published in Sozcu newspaper claims, among other things, that “20 islands are under Greek occupation.”
The same newspaper has expressed similar extreme positions on many occasions, as has the opposition presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who has called on Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to do in the Aegean what Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit did in 1974 when he ordered the invasion of Cyprus.
Meanwhile, in an interview with the NTV network, Erdogan presented the conversion of the former Greek Orthodox church of Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque as a major achievement.
“I keep mentioning where the country used to be and where we have come to. To some people I say Hagia Sophia and they understand… while others don’t. We move forward with those who understand when we say Hagia Sophia and when we say Karabakh,” Erdogan said. However, the Sabah newspaper has pointed out that the National Alliance opposition against Erdogan in the forthcoming elections may be planning to turn Hagia Sophia into a museum again.
