Besides, the ongoing antagonism was boosting authoritarian trends in both countries. History has taught us that problems that can instigate wars can also constitute the basis of a solid peace. After all, the reconciliation between France and Germany paved the way for the most successful integration movement ever.Currently, Turkey and Greece are struggling with different but equally critical problems. Greece has serious socio-economic problems, and the regime is being put to the test in Turkey. Many things have been said about the reasons for Greece’s economic crisis but the fact that Athens has wasted the European Union’s financial assistance is regularly emphasized. However, very few ask why the EU was not sufficiently careful before and did not control how the EU funds were being used. Perhaps those who have financed Greece’s deficit were hoping that the Greeks would use this money to trade with them. At least that’s what Greece has done until now. But now it can neither continue to trade nor pay its debt. Recently, some people in Germany, which is Greece’s main creditor, have said Greece must consider selling some of its uninhabited islands. This proposal reminds us of people who buy the equipment of bankrupt firms. The Greeks are irritated by this proposal and their confidence regarding their European partners has declined.
The Greek Islands not only have touristic value, they are strategically important, and perhaps the idea of getting rid of some of them is a way to say that Greece should modify its strategic priorities. Maybe Greece should consider cutting down its military spending, mainly inspired by antagonistic policies toward Turkey. In fact, a similar situation is also valid for the latter. The “Sledgehammer” plan revealed some time ago contains interesting data: according to this plan’s instigators, a war in the Aegean would be very useful to facilitate a coup in Turkey. For those in Turkey who want to pursue authoritarian rule, Greece should continue to play its role as a security risk or a concrete threat because if Turkish society is convinced that war is highly likely, it will easily believe that only military methods can save the country. If that happens, no one would think about questioning military spending in Turkey, either. This approach has always constituted a part of the background of the problems in the Aegean Sea. However, if one tries to see who has benefited the most from the ongoing tension between the two countries, one will notice the role of third players.
Nowadays, the two neighbors have serious domestic problems. Even though the nature of these problems is very different, they are somehow connected to the Aegean Sea, and third actors are still playing their roles. On the one hand, there is the EU, which wants to increase its influence in the Mediterranean region, and on the other, there is the US, which would turn the place upside down to preserve its current influence, without forgetting Russia, which has never abandoned its will to be present in the same region.
Would it be that bad if the two countries modify their strategic concepts and declare that they don’t see each other as a principal threat from now on, laying the ground for an international regime in the Aegean to develop investments, explore oil resources and increase trade? This is perhaps the right time.
