New political guidance needed for Turkey-Greece ties

Both sides accuse the other of making provocations through violations of air space and territorial waters. According to the Turkish Armed Forces, or TSK’s, Web site, Turkish aircraft were intercepted by Greek air forces in 161 separate incidents since the beginning of this year, clearly showing that not a single day passes without a dangerous dog fight occurring over Aegean. On the other hand, Greece says the flights by Turkish jets over Greek populated residential areas nearly doubled on last year.

On the sea, the situation is relatively calm compared to in the air. The TSK says on its Web site that Turkish territorial waters were violated by Greek vessels 18 times in the same period. This picture is dangerous for both sides and does not fit with their commitments to NATO as full members since 1952. Only a couple of years ago a Greek combat pilot died as a result of a dog fight with a Turkish aircraft. This sad and horrifying incident kicked started the parties to enlarge the confidence building measures, CBMs, with new initiatives like establishing a direct red line between the command headquarters in Turkey’s Eskişehir and Greece’s Larissa. In recent years, as a result of new steps taken by both governments, the total number of CBMs rose to 19. But, apparently, they are far from working effectively to reduce the tension.

In 2007 and in the first half of 2008, high level political and military visits were frequently made, including Costas Karamanlis who became the first Greek prime minister to visit Ankara in an official visit in 49 years. Nearly a year ago Greece’s top general paid a visit to Ankara, in response to his Turkish counterpart who went to Athens in 2007.

In addition to all this, political directors of the two countries’ foreign ministries, accompanied by military representatives, met 41 times since 2002 to explore the problems stemming from the Aegean Sea. There is no need to say that these meetings turned into a platform where the parties repeated their known and decades-old positions with regard to the territorial waters, air space etc.

According to the experts, the only way to change this course is new political guidance. For many here, as the local elections are over and a new foreign minister, who introduced the very concept of zero-problem-with-neighbors-policy, has been appointed in Turkey, the right time has come for renewing this guidance.

There are reports that the diplomatic traffic between Turkey and Greece will be reinforced in the next months as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is expected to visit Athens. It’s also possible for Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis, who did not hide her support of the zero-problem policy, to come to Turkey in the coming months upon Ahmet Davutoğlu’s invitation.

These meetings will compose a suitable climate for two neighbors to capture the much-wanted solace in the region.

That makes Erdoğan’s Friday statement in Poland more meaningful: "Greece’s approach to Turkey’s membership to the European Union has always been positive. Turkey’s relations with both the Greek government and its opposition are good. We had good contact with both former prime ministers Simitis and Papandreu. Then my dear friend Karamanlis came (to power). We have good relations with his as well. We also have developed better ties between our families. At the moment, Greece supports Turkey’s EU membership."

Erdoğan’s message to Athens on the eve of his expected visit is a good step taken in the direction of activating politics for the solution of the Aegean problems. The main responsibility in avoiding deadly dog fighting incidents or Kardak-Imia sort of disputes, that brought two neighbors to the brink of war in 1996, lies on the shoulders of the politicians of both sides.

They should come up with a new creative proposal to replace never-ending, futile exploratory meetings with a new mechanism that would not walk around the problems. They should even consider the arbitration of a third party or an international court to address this problem.

It’s also a requirement for the architect, Davutoğlu, and his follower, Bakoyannis, to merge their energy and creativity to this end.