by
Theodore G. Karakostas
It has been obvious for years that Turkey was the major beneficiary of the Obama-Biden administrations war on Syria. Furthermore, Turkey has benefitted from the anti Russian hysteria rampant in America and Europe. The Russophobia that has been stirred up for nearly a decade by the Democratic Party in America and their counterparts in Europe has been to the detriment of Greece.
It would not be fair to blame the Democrats entirely for advantages that Turkey has gained over the last several years. The Bush administration set the stage for the Syrian war by launching an unprovoked invasion of Iraq and creating the tensions that have led to American and NATO anti Russian policies. However, the focus on the present day problems of Greece as they pertain to Turkey lie directly with policies undertaken by the Obama-Biden administration.
First, the Obama-Biden administration brought about the anti Russian Coup in Ukraine in 2014. It is a fact that both political parties supported the encirclement of Russia by NATO. It was the Clinton administration that began expanding NATO in 1998 and these policies continued under the neoconservative administration of George W. Bush. But the final straw came with the overthrow of the pro Russian government in Ukraine and the installation of the regime of Petro Poroshenko.
The regime change in Ukraine occurred because Washington wanted to bring Ukraine into NATO. The Russians as such have been on the defensive and responded by growing close to Turkey. Russian-Turkish relations grew close in large part because the Russians were treated as an enemy by NATO and this was before the widespread anti Russian hysteria took off following Hillary Clinton’s election loss in 2016.
Secondly, the Obama-Biden administration firmly embraced war in Syria. As a result of the Syrian war both Europe and Turkey were flooded with refugees from the war. Both of them have become exhausted by the endless arrivals of refugees. Turkey however has gained a serious advantage from the refugee crisis.
Turkey has a couple of million refugees within its borders and is in a position to threaten the terrified nations of Europe with a further flood of refugees. Turkey has in fact made out quite well from the Obama-Biden administrations policies in Syria. Ankara has been able to establish close ties with Moscow (for now) while the Europeans are inclined to appease Turkey in order to avoid another refugee crisis.
Turkey’s position looks to increase even further with the anti Russian policies pursued by Washington. Historically, the Turks have always benefitted from anti Russian hysteria. During the nineteenth century, the European powers backed the Ottoman Empire in its wars with the Russian Empire. The support for the Ottomans after the outbreak of the Crimean War in 1853 is the best example.
Greece and Cyprus face serious existential threats from Erdogan’s Turkey at the present time. There have been some positive signals from officials in Washington who have expressed support for Athens. However, positive statements are far from a formal commitment to Greece. The danger remains that the United States will seek to support Turkey as a counter to Russia.
Present day Russian-Turkish relations are a problem for Greece and Cyprus. The question needs to be asked whether the Russians would have gotten close to Turkey if NATO and the Americans had not provoked the Russians by attempting to expand to the Russian border. The Syrian war has also helped Turkey tremendously.
Turkey continues to occupy a portion of Syrian territory. Furthermore, Turkey has established an influence over its jihadist allies in Syria. With Turkish support, jihadist fighters from Syria travelled to Azerbaijan to help that terrorist sponsor fight against the Armenians in Artsakh. In addition, Syrian jihadists with the support of Ankara are present in Libya where they are fighting a rebel faction that is backed by the Russians.
Turkey was allied with the Islamic State and has become a collaborator with Al Quada. Despite these ties, and despite Turkish support for Syrian jihadists in Artsakh and Libya, Turkey has not been declared a state sponsor of terrorism. The problem for Greece, Cyprus, and Armenia is that Russia for the moment is allied with Turkey and America has not been willing to terminate formally its alliance and support for Turkey.
In the new Cold War that is emerging between Washington and Moscow, Turkey is a beneficiary despite its evolving jihadist character. The Trump administration held promise for Greece for a couple of credible reasons. This is based on the Trump administrations attitudes toward both Russia and the Syrian war.
The Trump administration was friendly toward Russia. If Washington had ceased in its anti Russian hysteria, policy towards Russia might have eased and which might have led Moscow to feel less threatened by NATO. Feeling threatened by NATO and on the defensive, Moscow has been trying to undermine that alliance by influencing Turkey. Therefore, NATO hostility to Russia may very well have led to Russian-Turkish cooperation.
The Trump administration was not permitted to adopt a friendly posture toward Russia that would have eased tensions. Furthermore, the Trump administration was opposed to the war in Syria. It should be remembered that Greece suffered considerably from the Syria war that the Obama-Biden administration supported once it began. The Greek islands were flooded with refugees on top of the migration from the Middle East that had already been well under way.
The Biden administration appears to differ from the Trump administrations policies in another significant way. The Trump administration viewed jihadist terrorism as a priority. Hence, the action taken by the Trump administration to destroy the Islamic State. The Trump administration cut off the flow of support that was being given to Syrian jihadists (the rebels were all terrorists) and stood aside as the Syrian government with the backing of the Russians defeated Islamic State in Syria.
In Iraq, the Trump administration armed and backed fully the Iraqi army which successfully liberated its own occupied territories from Islamic State. The Trump administration cannot be commended entirely. The betrayal of the Syrian Kurds will remain perhaps the most shameful act of the Trump administration in a gesture that fully appeased the Turks.
However, the Trump administrations commitment to fight jihadism might have been a precedent for future action against Turkey. The downfall of Islamic State has seen Turkey fill the vacuum as the center of jihadism. President Erdogan of Turkey could not have have been pleased by the claims of the Islamic State “Caliph” over political and spiritual leadership of the worlds Sunni Muslims. His own position and claims were heightened after the demise of Islamic State.
The Turkish President sees himself as the leader of the worlds Sunni Muslims (at least politically). The Turkish President desires the restoration of the Ottoman Empire. The building of a huge palace in Constantinople that would have filled the Sultans with envy, and the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a Mosque demonstrates the Turkish leader’s ambitions.
The ascension to power of the Democratic Party of Joe Biden remains problematic. First of all, Greeks have forgotten the historical betrayal of Hellenism by the Democrats when it counted. The anniversary of January 31 came and went without notice by the Hellenic world. On that date in 1996, the Turks made a claim over the Greek islet of Imia. Maps and Treaties showed the islet was Greek territory but the Clinton administration through its “mediator”, then Undersecretary of State Richard Holbrooke pressured Greece to remove its flag and to withdraw.
Secondly, the Democratic Party today is a party of political correctness whose understanding and appreciation of history, religion, and national conflicts is highly questionable. At least with the Trump administration the possibility existed of a continued anti terrorism policy that could have been aimed at Turkey at some point. The Democratic administration of Joe Biden is so inherently anti Russia, one has to consider whether it will consider any other foreign policy issues such as the problems posed by Turkey.
Greeks have failed to appreciate one serious difference between the Trump administration and all preceding administrations (Republican and Democratic alike). The Trump administration unlike its predecessors DID NOT bully Greece into making concessions to Turkey. This is in contrast to the Clinton administration’s pressure on Greece during the Imia affair, and the Bush-Cheney administrations bullying of Cyprus to accept the Annan Plan
As tensions mounted between Greece and Turkey as a result of Turkish aggression during the summer of 2020, many media critics attacked the Trump administration. The New York Times in an editorial lamented the absence of Richard Holbrooke. Greeks should remember Holbrooke as the bully who pressured Greece to surrender the islet of Imia.
The ignorant criticism directed at Trump on the matter of Greek-Turkish tensions is actually favorable for Trump. Trump’s refusal to get involved may have enabled the Mitsotakis government in Greece to maintain its tough and defiant stance against Turkey. Trump’s record on Greek issues is by no means perfect, but it was better than any of his predecessors.
Much criticism was directed at Trump over his relationship with Erdogan. But those critics have yet to name even a single American President who could ever be considered pro Greek. The Eisenhower administration presided over the anti Greek pogroms in Constantinople with no reaction to the Turkish crimes. The Johnson administration took no action against Ankara for the ethnic cleansing of Greeks from Constantinople in 1964. In fact, the Johnson administration personally threatened Greek Ambassador Alexander Matsas after the Greek government refused to accept a deal that would have given Turkey a base in Cyprus and would have forced Greece to give up the island of Castellorizo.
The Nixon-Kissinger administration brought about the invasions and ethnic cleansing of Cyprus. The Carter administration lifted the embargo on Turkey that was imposed by Congress after the invasions of Cyprus. The Reagan and Bush administrations viewed Turkey as a strategic asset during the Cold War and in Operation Desert Storm. The Clinton administration recognized Skopje as “Macedonia”, pressured Greece in Imia, and took no action after the murders of Cypriot protestors Tasos Isaac and Solomos Solomou in 1996.
The second Bush administration was hostile to Greece and Cyprus considering its attempts to force Cyprus to accept the undemocratic and racist Annan Plan. The Obama-Biden administration hurt Greece by the aforementioned policies mentioned above. The Trump administration for all its failings was better for Greece and Cyprus than any of the above mentioned administrations.
Regarding prospects for the future. There is still reason for some optimism despite some disappointment. The Erdogan government may very well reject any diplomatic gestures from Washington as the Turkish President is not known for humility or rational thinking. The strength of the Kemalist Army Officers in Turkey was they understood Turkey’s strategic advantages were based on maintaining close relations with America, NATO, and Israel. Turkish strategic positions for the West mean nothing if Ankara does not cooperate.
Turkey has harmed its relationship with Israel and its relationship with America and NATO remains cool despite their efforts to revive the old relationship. Israeli policies remain immoral and problematic owing to the support it continues to give to the genocidal government of Azerbaijan. The future of Russian-Turkish relations are also uncertain. Undeniably, the warm relations between Russia and Turkey is problematic but the possibility of a rupture in relations remains strong.
First, there is the precedent of what transpired in 2015. Even then, Russian-Turkish relations were warm. But the conflict of interests in Syria led Turkey to shoot down a Russian plane. Furthermore, the Russian Ambassador in Turkey was assassinated by a Turkish jihadist.
Russia and Turkey are on opposite sides of the conflict in Libya. Turkey sponsors and supports the Syrian jihadists. Those are the forces that the Russians opposed in Syria. Turkey is a jihadist state while Russia claims to be the heir of Byzantium by flying the old imperial flag which displays the double headed eagle. Ideologically and spiritually, Russia and Turkey have conflicting agendas.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has asserted that Greece is within its rights to extend its territory in the Aegean Sea to twelve nautical miles. Russia has condemned the opening of the beach of Varosha in the occupied territories of Cyprus. The Russians also reminded the Turks of the role of the Russians at the Battle of Navarino in 1828.
Greece cannot help but be weary of the Russians as long as they are in a formal friendship with Turkey. But Athens should recognize that the Russian government has expressed a desire for friendly relations with Greece. Athens should maintain friendly relations and maintain that its position on all national issues are non negotiable.
Greeks should remember that NATO has refused to criticize Turkey for its acts of aggression against Greece. Under no circumstances is western support for Greece guaranteed. It should also be remembered that Prime Minister Mitsotakis asked the Europeans to impose sanctions on Turkey specifically in connection to Turkish acts of aggression against Greece. The Europeans only imposed sanctions based on Turkish purchases of a Russian defense system.
When the Greek Prime Minister asked the Germans to stop selling arms to the Turks, they refused. The Greeks find themselves in a very tough situation as usual. But the Mitsotakis government has found itself in a position where it has been able to successfully stand up to Turkey.
Greece would have been in a stronger position without the cold war rivalry developing between Washington and Moscow. These type of rivalries always lead to Turkey’s strategic value going up. The best hope that exists is for the Turkish President to destroy his country’s relationships with both Washington and Moscow. The Turkish President is a narcissist and is capable of instigating a crisis with any country at any time.
Regarding American policies, Greeks may come to regret the departure of Donald Trump. Donald Trump’s pro Russian stance might have made a huge difference in 2015 after the Turks shot down that Russian plane had he been in office. If Russian-Turkish relations sour again, how likely is it that the Biden administration would stand on the sidelines and let the Russians move against Turkey?