Turkey-Greece tension escalates: Erdogan’s statements draw attention of Greek opposition

Opposition parties in Greece have made statements on the tension with Turkey. The Greek-based newspaper Ta Nea also wrote that the Athens administration was locked in Erdogan’s speech at the UN General Assembly next week.

While tensions between Turkey and Greece have climbed up with mutual statements in the recent period, opposition parties in Greece have also joined the discussion. While the words of President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdogan ‘We can come suddenly one night’ are still on the agenda in Athens, there have been back to back statements from the Greek opposition that have attracted attention.

Kostas Giukelas, one of the deputies of the center-right New Democracy party in Greece, stressed that the threat from Turkey was increasing day by day. Guikelas said he expected aggressive rhetoric to peak in Turkey until the 2023 elections. Regarding the recent tensions with Turkey, the Greek MP said, “No one knows where it can go. I am afraid of the possibility of accidents” adding Greece was trying to solve problems through diplomacy.”

POSSIBILITY OF SURPRISE ATTACK

SYRIZA, the party of former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who was in power in the previous period in Greece (now the main opposition party) has also raised its voice on Turkey. SYRIZA MP Yiannis Bournos, like his Greek counterpart Guikelas, spoke about the possibility of an ‘accident’ that could happen in the Aegean, and said “I think Erdogan will further escalate tensions.”

Dimitris Koutsoubas, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the KKE Communist Party of Greece, said that they did not rule out the possibility of a surprise attack by Turkey. The SYRIZA MP also suggested that Turkey would try to expand the borders of the Blue Homeland. Koutsobas stated that NATO supported Turkey and said, “In the event of a possible conflict, Greece will be left alone. The European Union, let alone NATO, will not even raise its hand.”