“Erdogan wants to deal a decisive blow to Hellenism – Greece is his strongest opponent”

In recent years, Erdogan has intensified his aggression against our country. “He has a milestone in front of him that he believes in very much. In 1923-2023. The 100 years of the Treaty of Lausanne which are important for him and his country”he says Ioannis Valinakis in the podcast of Newsbeast. “It is the end of the empire that is being cut into pieces and only today’s Turkey remains. He thinks he should celebrate this milestone with a big success”he adds.

The professor of International Relations at the University of Athens and former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, spoke to us about the “opportunity” that President Erdogan sees for his country to gain ground, both literally and figuratively. “With its neighbors, Syria and Iraq, it has already made expansionist moves. He considers that Greece is the most powerful opponent in the region. Mainly because Greece has the West behind it, or at least a part of the West. The Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean prevent it from playing the role of a great power, as it would like.”explains Mr Valinakis.

And it continues: “For a number of reasons, Erdogan wants to deal Greece and Hellenism a decisive blow. Whether this blow will be diplomatic or whether it will be military, hybrid or something else, will depend on developments. He prepares on many levels all his powers and plans. It prepares the Turkish people with a narrative that Greece is an aggressive country. All this for us and every third bona fide person is outrageous. They are unimaginable things. And yet every day they happen and intensify. It is not just a bluff as many say. That’s why we have to operate with the worst possible scenario and be ready”.

The former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs argues “how the Greek strategy shouldwhich is still the strategy of the 70s, while a lot has changed since then, to adapt to the new data. In order for this to happen, one, two, ten meetings of KYSEA together with relevant experts are needed to decide how we will deal with Turkey”. For the teacher, strategy presupposes three things: a) Determination, b) Technical ability to deal a lot of damage to your opponent, c) He (the Turkish side) will decide if you have the determination and can do that much damage to him, not us.

What is happening on the territory of Ukraine affects our country quite a bit. “Erdogan imitates Putin”, Mr. Valinakis has pointed out for a long time. “After World War II, an order of things was imposed that had one basic principle: The inviolability of borders. With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, those who want to revise borders because they consider that they were wronged in the past, and there are a lot of them, are united in a pole which is the pole of revisionism. It was started by Russia, aligned with China, Turkey, Iran, all of them having an anti-Western orientation. This is extremely dangerous for Greece“, the experienced politician explains to us.

What does he think about the day after the war? “Many Westerners want an end to the war and there is pressure on Zelensky to accept a truce. Nobody wants the continuation of the war except some extremes, the Easterners, who are afraid that they will have the same fate as Ukraine and that is why they want to get rid of Putin now”, he answers us.

Listen to the really interesting analysis of Ioannis Valinakis on the Newsbeast podcast.

Timeline

1:00 THE Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stepped up his provocative rhetoric. What is his plan behind this tactic?

5:39 The tension between Greece and Turkey is not hidden. Some argue that it is manageable. How easy is it to escape and become unmanageable?

7:51 What would prompt the Turks to create a scene of conflict?

14:42 THE Turkey vis-à-vis Greece it has been following the same policy of revisionism for decades. What is our attitude?

21:25 What moves by the Greek side would put us in a position of strength against Turkey?

25:22 Spot response or total war? The three point strategy.

27:53 How do other countries feel about the crisis between Greece and Turkey?

33:01 It is possible to stop soon war in Ukraine or will it last several years?

37:57 How much has this war already changed the world?

Newsbeast Podcast

Christos Argyriou: “If Erdogan does not want to see the end of Gaddafi… – In the new era of Turkey there will be great turmoil”

Ioannis Egolfopoulos: “First we will burn you, then we will ask – Erdogan knows what will happen if they go up to a Greek island”

George Filis: “The Turks should know that we will react in such a way that they will remember it three generations later”

Panagiotis Theodorakidis: “I see Greece being forced to make concessions – The disarmament of the Aegean islands is not Erdogan’s request”

Konstantinos Lavdas: “We are moving into a new form of globalization, with conflicts and destabilization – Many currencies will play roles”

Vassilis Rozis: “With Turkey in front of us, we should make use of women in the army, and women’s conscription should be established”