to where tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean will go further
Ankara’s assertive policy has unnerved not only regional powers like Greece and Egypt, but also countries like France – a Western Mediterranean state – which has deployed its Navy and military aircraft into the region, further escalating tensions with Turkey.
Experts however say that it is unlikely to see Turkey giving in to any foreign pressure, especially when it has strengthened its military capacity under its flagship modernisation projects in the past few decades.
“It’s difficult to predict what would happen there,” says Ismail Bozkurt, an experienced Turkish Cypriot writer, and a former member of the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus (TRNC) presidential advisory council responsible for negotiations with the Greek Cypriot Administration (GCA).
While Bozkurt does not see much possibility that there will be a hot war in the region, he still thinks that an unexpected spark could possibly provoke a military confrontation between Turkey and its rivals in the Eastern Mediterranean.
“The tense political atmosphere in the Eastern Mediterranean suggests that a spark could immediately trigger a fire across the region,” Bozkurt told TRT World.
A war here could damage Turkey and its interests, the expert says, but “Greece would be damaged much more than Turkey.”
He also thinks that while France and some other regional powers like Egypt and Israel rhetorically support Greece, in a hot war situation with Ankara, “Athens would find itself alone”.
