George Monastiriakos, a professor of law at the University of Ottawa, has sent a letter to the Greek newspaper Ekathimerini and warned Greece to adjust to Turkey’s growing importance for European security.
Monastiriakos argued that Europe’s strategic alignment with Turkey has already been under way for months, if not years. He also listed following seven facts about Türkiye-EU rapprochement;
First, after nearly 14 years of civil war, Ankara helped the Hayat Tahrir Al Sham-led coalition overthrow the Russia and Iran-backed dictator of Syria. Before that, I, like many others, argued that Turkey was leaning toward Moscow instead of Europe and Ukraine. That is obviously not the case.
Second, Portugal awarded a contract to Turkish defense company STM to build logistics vessels for the Portuguese Navy. In fact, this was the first time that the Turkish government allowed STM to export military vessels to an EU and NATO member-state.
Third, Spain signed a memorandum of understanding with Turkish Aerospace Industries to collaborate on the Hurjet Trainer Aircraft project. Madrid intends to replace its aging fleet of F-5s with 24 Turkish-made Hurjets. General Francisco Braco Carbo, commander of the Spanish Air Force, has since flown a formation flight with his Turkish counterpart.
Fourth, Turkey is procuring Meteor missiles manufactured by a consortium of European companies including France’s Airbus, the United Kingdom’s BAE Systems, and Italy’s Leonardo, even though Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis lobbied French President Emmanuel Macron to cancel the transaction on the basis of Greece’s 2021 defense agreement with France.
Fifth, Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar acquired Italy’s struggling Piaggio Aerospace in December. Yet security cooperation between Ankara and Rome doesn’t end there. The same day that my article was published by Kathimerini, Italy’s Leonardo announced a joint venture to produce unmanned aerial vehicles with Turkey’s Baykar.
Sixth, Poland deployed a military unit with Bayraktar TB2 drones to the Turkish Republic as part of NATO’s Tailored Assurance Measures for Turkey (TAMT). Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has since stated that Turkey must play a more important role in European security, and is scheduled to meet with Turkish President Erdogan in Ankara to discuss that next week.
Seventh, Turkey has also committed to deploying soldiers to Ukraine if the need should arise. This might not mean much in Athens, but it makes waves in Brussels, Paris, Berlin, London, Rome, Warsaw and Kyiv.
Source: ekathimerini.com
