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26 August 2020

Greece irked by Germany in standoff with Turkey


This time, Greek officials are frustrated that they have not received more support in their military standoff with Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean from their fellow EU member and Europe's economic powerhouse.

The tension between Athens and Berlin is not nearly as high as during the last financial crisis, when furious Greeks blamed their biggest creditor for an overdose of painful austerity. But it does have at least faint echoes of that discord.

“We and Germany have a completely different perspective of how we should deal with our neighbor. We cannot continue to caress them — Turkey has abandoned the Western values once and for all; the appeasement period has ended,” a senior Greek diplomat declared. “Germany has a misconception about the intentions of the other side.”

The diplomat insisted that the two sides remain close. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas will visit both Athens and Ankara on Tuesday, a visit that Berlin hopes will help to mediate a dialogue between Greece and Turkey that could start as soon as late next week.

Another sign of Greek frustration came after Germany's ambassador to Athens, Ernst Reichel, tweeted about an Ottoman governor who ruled over parts of modern-day Greece.

But such is the depth of disagreement between Greece and Germany up to now that it has spilled over into another pressing issue facing the EU — the crisis in Belarus.


In a videoconference of EU foreign ministers earlier this month, Athens blocked a joint statement on Belarus because Berlin would not accept the tough language it wanted on Turkish action in the Eastern Mediterranean and a reference to a Greek-Egyptian maritime demarcation deal, according to several EU diplomats.

Instead of a joint declaration from the 27 ministers, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell had to issue a statement on his own.

Another sign of Greek frustration came after Germany's ambassador to Athens, Ernst Reichel, tweeted about an Ottoman governor who ruled over parts of modern-day Greece.

“Ali Pasha, Ottoman governor aka Lion of Ioannina, tried to create an independent state in Epirus. He failed and was killed. His headless body was buried here. In another story, he had 18 local maidens drowned because they refused to join his harem,” he wrote while on holiday in that area this month.

Within minutes, Reichel received hundreds of replies from Greeks accusing him of insensitivity given the current standoff with Turkey.

The criticism appeared to get under the ambassador's skin, who responded with some rather undiplomatic language: "Dear haters," he tweeted. "What upsets you here: That I sympathize with Ali Pasha, who rebelled against the Ottomans? Or that I don’t sympathize with him? And what has Ali Pasha to do with today’s situation?”

German officials and the German embassy in Athens declined to comment.
Seismic standoff

The latest in a long line of confrontations between Greece and Turkey began on August 10, when an official Turkish vessel the Oruç Reis laid cables for seismic research in what Greece considers its continental shelf, south of the Greek island of Kastellorizo.

Dozens of Greek and Turkish navy flotillas are lined up in the area against each other and diplomats fear an accidental or deliberate escalation could spark a full-blown conflict. A Greek frigate collided with a Turkish ship earlier this month. Late on Sunday, Turkey issued a new navigational warning (aka Navtex) saying it would extend seismic research in the area for four more days, until Thursday.

Turkish vessel the Oruç Reis is laying cable in what Greece considers its continental shelf | Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Images

The Turkish move is part of Ankara's wider energy exploration efforts in disputed waters in the Eastern Mediterranean, which have pitted it against neighbors Greece and Cyprus. It came days after Greece and Egypt signed a maritime demarcation agreement that Turkey refused to recognize.

The Turkish foreign ministry called the deal “null and void,” claiming the area “lies within the Turkish continental shelf” and also violates Libya’s maritime rights.

Despite the suggestion among Greek officials that Turkey has changed direction, Turkish officials have repeatedly said it is Europe that has failed to fulfill agreements with Ankara, including funding agreed under the 2016 migration pact between the EU and Turkey, as well as promises on Turkey’s accession negotiations to the EU and visa liberalization for Turkish citizens.

Germany has played a role in trying to defuse tensions between Athens and Ankara. Late last month, Chancellor Angela Merkel helped avert a potential conflict by calling both Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Germany's circumspect approach contrasts with the more muscular stance taken by the EU's key player, France.

With Berlin’s mediation, Ankara said it would suspend plans for exploration off Kastellorizo in favor of negotiations with Greece. Exploratory talks were expected to start later this month but, after the Greek-Egyptian accord, Erdoğan called them off, claiming the Greeks “did not keep their promises.”

The Greek-Egyptian deal also appeared to catch Berlin off guard and the reception from Germany was decidedly frosty. Germany was irked by the timing of the deal, which came a day before it was announced that Athens and Ankara would start talks, according to several EU diplomats.

German government spokesman Steffen Seibert told a news conference in Berlin that “the Federal Government has taken note of the signing of a Greek-Egyptian agreement.” But he refrained from commenting on it, adding that it is important for Greece and Turkey “to engage in direct talks” and “avoid any further escalations.”

Greek officials defended the deal with Egypt, saying that everyone knew it was coming. They acknowledged the timing may have come as a surprise but argued it had to be kept under wraps to stop Turkish attempts to thwart it.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas will visit both Athens and Ankara on Tuesday | John MacDougall/Getty Images

“There would never have been good timing," the senior Greek diplomat said.

Germany's circumspect approach contrasts with the more muscular stance taken by the EU's key player, France. President Emmanuel Macron has voice full-throated support for Greece and Cyprus and ordered a temporary increase in France's military presence in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Such moves fit well with one of Macron's own foreign policy aims — to increase pressure on Turkey, with whom he is at loggerheads on a range of issues including Libya.

Although modern Germany is much more cautious in the use of its military than France, Greece has made clear it would welcome similar signals from Berlin. Greek defense ministry officials argue Germany should not be a bystander.

“Germany is not alone at the EU level when it asks for Athens and Ankara to solve their problems via dialogue" — George Tzogopoulos, Centre International de Formation Européenne

Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos contacted his German counterpart Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer last Tuesday, ahead of an informal meeting of EU defense ministers in Berlin on August 26.

Panagiotopoulos told Kramp-Karrenbauer that Greece is prepared to start talks with Turkey should the latter immediately withdraw its seismic vessel from the area, the officials said.

However, analysts say Greek politicians should hardly be surprised that Germany is looking out for its own interests. Berlin has a strong interest in maintaining decent relations with Ankara, not least because of the EU's refugee deal with Turkey that means many migrants remain there rather than heading for Germany.

“Greek politicians used Germany as a scapegoat during the economic crisis and this tactic finds now resonance in foreign policy," said George Tzogopoulos, a senior research fellow at the Centre International de Formation Européenne, a European research institution.

Greece's Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos has been in contact with his German counterpart Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer | Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Ultimately, Tzogopoulos said, Greece and Turkey would have to solve their dispute themselves, with both sides making compromises.

“Germany is not alone at the EU level when it asks for Athens and Ankara to solve their problems via dialogue. The Greek government needs to adapt itself to new developments and start negotiations with Turkey in order to come to an agreement on the delimitation of the continental shelf peacefully, whereas the Turkish government has to refrain from activities that bring risks of a military accident,” he said.

A day after Mass’ visit to both capitals, the Greek-Egyptian deal will be voted on by the Greek parliament, while EU foreign ministers meet Thursday in Berlin to discuss the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean, including the possibility of Turkish sanctions.

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