No risk of clash with Turkey in Mediterranean, says top Greek adviser

Nikolaos Stelya/ DUVAR

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' national security adviser Alexandros Diakopoulos has refuted the Greek media's recent claims that a risk of a military confrontation between Greece and Turkey has arisen in the wake of Ankara's deal on maritime boundaries with Libya.

According to Diakopoulos, a retired vice admiral, and Mitsotakis' close colleagues, the Turkey-Libya agreement will not lead to unexpected developments in the Turkish-Greek ties. They are of the opinion that Turkey signed the relevant maritime territory deal taking into account the latest developments in Libya. According to Diakopoulos, the Turkey-Libya accord does not concern whole of Libya.

Turkey and the internationally recognized government of Libya signed the accord in November defining their boundaries and a deal on expanded security and military cooperation, a step Turkey said was protecting its rights. Later, Greece ordered the expulsion of the Libyan ambassador, saying that the deal "violates international maritime law including the right of Greek islands to maritime boundaries." Greece's move was later condemned by both Turkey and Libya.

The Greek media has been recently very preoccupied with news related to the Turkey-Libya deal. Especially, media outlets that appeal to the nationalist and conservative fractions of the Greek society do not rule out any possibility in the Aegean and Mediterranean seas, stoking fears of clash between Turkey and Greece. But, contrary to the majority of Greek media, the Mitsotakis' government does not believe that there is a risk of “hot incident” with Turkey, especially in the wake of a meeting between the Greek premier and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Dec. 4 on the sidelines of the NATO summit in London.

'Channels of dialogue are open'

Relations with Turkey may present difficulties, but Greece and Turkey can overcome their differences as long as they show goodwill, Mitsotakis was quoted as saying by the Greek media following the two leaders' meeting.

According to Diakopoulos, this meeting has once again shown that the channels of dialogue and communication are open between the two countries, which erodes the possibility of an armed conflict.

Diakopoulos has also touched upon the possibility of Turkey sending a drill ship to waters claimed by Greece in the Mediterranean Sea. “To kill a fly, you cannot use a sledgehammer, because then you would pull down the wall,” Diakopoulos said, when asked what kind of an action Greece would take, should such a possibility actualize.