By Tom Ellis
Political developments in our region are not limited to the major issue of our bilateral relations with Turkey, although the latter’s broader influence is evident.
The unfolding change in the US stance towards Turkey as well as in the war in Ukraine require a new assessment of the situation and appropriate management of developments so as keep Greece’s regional strategic value at the forefront.
Our relations with North Macedonia are not the best possible after the election of nationalist politicians with a confrontational stance towards Greece as prime minister and president in Skopje. Here we must insist on the full acceptance and faithful implementation of the Prespa Agreement as a self-evident prerequisite for the development of bilateral cooperation and support for the Blakan country’s European prospects. At the same time, we have no reason to get involved in any way in the political dispute between North Macedonia and Bulgaria.
In our relations with Albania, the visit by Foreign Minister Igli Hasani to Athens last Tuesday had some positive features. The good knowledge of Greece and the Greek language by the head of Albanian diplomacy can only prove helpful in the bilateral relations, but the strings are pulled by Prime Minister Edi Rama himself. Beyond the specific issue of the rights of the Greek minority, a major issue is the delimitation of the exclusive economic zone, which has been pending for over 15 years and must proceed, without the intervention of third countries. Any development cannot but have Albania’s European perspective as a basic parameter.
It has become clear in recent days that another difficult diplomatic front is emerging, this time to the South and specifically in Libya and the apparent change in stance of the government in eastern Libya, under General Khalifa Haftar, towards the Turkish-Libyan memorandum of 2019. For several years, there has been negligence on Greece’s side on the issue. It will not be easy to regain lost ground, but immediate actions are required, not only at the bilateral level, but also with neighboring countries.
Finally, a different issue arose with Egypt and the Greek Orthodox Monastery of Saint Catherine in Sinai. Greece is reacting to the Egyptian court ruling by attempting to capitalize on good bilateral relations, but the religious, as well as the commercial, dimension of the issue complicates matters.
In addition to the unpredictable geopolitical environment within which it is called upon to operate, Greek diplomacy has recently been confronted with and has to deal with, an increasing number of trouble spots in our neighborhood, which pose multiple risks. One hopes it will do so effectively.
Source: Kathimerini