«A critical summit meeting in Ankara! Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis comes to Turkey». This is the headline of the Turkish online newspaper AHaber in its report which makes particular reference to the negative coverage in the Greek press following the announcement of a Turkish Navtex in the Aegean. The article also mentions the key agenda items for the Mitsotakis-Erdogan meeting, which will include Greek-Turkish relations, the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean, regional developments and “various cooperation efforts that Greece is pursuing.”
According to AHaber journalist Ilhan Taxin, Erdogan is expected to once again offer an “olive branch” to Mitsotakis during their meeting and will convey once more that “the two neighboring countries should cooperate in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean based on the ‘win-win’ principle.”
In another section, he writes that “Ankara will be at the negotiating table, prioritizing cooperation over tension and dialogue over conflict, clearly showing its willingness to resolve problems with its EU member neighbor, seeking to maintain open diplomatic channels and develop neighborly relations.”
Iatridis tells parapolitika.gr about F-35s for Turkey: If the S-400s don’t leave Turkish soil, Turkey won’t get them
Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barak has brought the discussion about Turkey’s inclusion in the F-35 program back to the forefront and once again announced American presidential intervention to resolve the issue.
Retired Air Vice Marshal and defense analyst Konstantinos Iatridis, speaking to parapolitika.gr, dismisses such a possibility. As Mr. Iatridis explains, “the S-400 issue remains for Turkey” and emphasizes that “if they don’t find a way to remove them from Turkish soil – not store them, but remove them from Turkey – they won’t get the F-35s. So it’s extremely difficult.”
According to the retired Air Vice Marshal, even if Turkey were to remove the missiles, it would need to secure Moscow’s approval, since “because the agreement it signed with Russia is very strict, the Kremlin would have to agree. Turkey can’t do anything on its own. Not even move them to another region, like Syria, as had been suggested. So I see it as difficult to impossible. Additionally, in America there isn’t only the CAATSA law (which prohibits the sale of F-35s to Turkey as long as S-400s exist on its soil), there’s also the National Defense Act, which says that in case of S-400 removal from Turkish soil, this must be confirmed by the Defense Secretary and the Secretary of State. If they don’t leave, can Rubio go with Hegseth to the Senate and say they have indeed confirmed that the S-400s have left?”
“Tom Barak has fallen out of favor with the American government, he says things that sometimes don’t hold water”
However, Tom Barak’s persistence, repeatedly returning to the F-35 issue and expressing certainty about Turkey acquiring them, raises questions. As Mr. Iatridis says, “Tom Barak is not a diplomat, he has fallen out of favor with the American government and for this reason he’s trying to exercise his influence. The Kurdish issue has created problems for him in the Senate. Lindsey Graham – a Republican senator – has promoted a law regarding the Kurds stating that those who attack them will also be opposing American interests. And right now Mr. Barak has a problem. He had said this about the F-35s before. Did he get them? Mr. Barak says things that sometimes don’t hold water. Unless something has happened that we don’t know about.”
Within the week, however, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan begins visits to Saudi Arabia and Egypt, strengthening his diplomatic role. As Turkish media report, high on his contact agenda is promoting Donald Trump’s Peace Council, as well as agreements on defense programs.
