The question that arises is what is to be done from now on? Will the effort to normalise Greek-Turkish relations continue or will it be nipped in the bud?
The lira plunged 15% immediately after former governor Agbal’s dismissal before a rebound, and foreign investors dumped the most bonds and stocks in 15 years over the following week.
Dendias’ talks with Cavusoglu and Erdogan will take place in the shadow of a recent barrage of hostile statements from the Turkish leadership.
'I am willing to meet with my Turkish counterpart and friend Mevlut Cavusoglu, but of course such a meeting must be held in a suitable climate for it to be meaningful,” said Nikos Dendias.
In order to persuade the EU of his putatively good intentions. Erdogan agreed to resume exploratory talks with Greece (that he had cut off in July, 2016) on 25 January.
Whoever is the leader of the Turkish-Cypriots plays an important role in the resistances of a community facing the religious, economic, and political pressures of Erdogan’s Turkey.
In a speech to lawmakers of his AK Party in parliament, Erdogan said that standing against attacks on the Prophet was “an issue of honour for us”, suggesting Ankara may be digging in for a prolonged standoff.
The Germans, who traditionally supported the Turks, played a significant role in the construction of Turkish nationalism.
Erdogan is forging new alliances which explain the projection of Turkish power from the Red Sea to the Caucasus and his bid for the lion’s share of the hydrocarbons in the Southeastern Mediterranean.
Turkey is continually opening new military fronts and in so doing it is acting in a destabilising manner and is displaying a glaring indifference to the fact that it has lost all of its traditional allies.
Even the most incredulous person realises the words of the Turkish president are hollow as he takes care to demonstrate every day that he is an untrustworthy interlocutor.
With his country a hair’s breadth from a currency crisis and economic collapse and confronted with the prospect of international isolation Erdogan must now be concerned about his own future.
It is the duty of the Greek state to reveal his schemes and role and to communicate to the international community the threat that Turkey poses to regional security and peace.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan as the self-styled father of post-modern Turkey will proudly oversee an event that he views as world-historical.
All of his actions regarding the pandemic highlighted Erdogan’s weaknesses. At first he refused to take protective measures against the epidemic. He ignored the warnings of scientists.
His first years in power focused on a recovery of the Turkish economy and he systematically promoted the mass integration (mainly through Islamic networks) in the production process of marginalised segments of society.
Erdogan’s court was rife with scandals. He gave himself a 1mn dollar monthly salary, his assets were said to be worth nearly one billion dollars, and he provoked everyone.
Families started bonfires as the sound of crying babies blended with the muezzin’s call to prayer blasting from a towering white mosque.
On the purely symbolic level, however, the joint visit of Von der Leyen, European Council Co-President Charles Michel, and European Parliament President David Sassoli was intended as a message to Turkey and migrants that the EU is prepared to guard its borders.
The latest operations marked an escalation by police against alleged supporters of Gulen, a one-time ally of President Tayyip Erdogan who subsequently became his arch foe.