| Tango01 | 18 Apr 2018 3:38 p.m. PST |
"The relationship between Greece and Turkey has never been easy. The neighboring countries have been at war with each other several times in the 20th century and were close to military conflict over the Greek islet Imia in 1996, before the United States stepped in to avert disaster. The NATO allies are now at the brink again, goaded by populists on both sides — and this time, Washington is nowhere to be found. On Monday, a Greek-Turkish confrontation rekindled old memories. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, during an event in Ankara, claimed that the Turkish coast guard had removed a Greek flag from an islet near the island of Fournoi, after it was placed there earlier by three Greeks. The Hellenic National Defense General Staff responded that no Turkish boat had been seen in the area in the last 48 hours; the mayor of Fournoi then visited the islet and reported that the Greek flag was still there…."
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| paulgenna | 18 Apr 2018 4:46 p.m. PST |
No, they have been doing this for years. |
Oberlindes Sol LIC  | 18 Apr 2018 8:54 p.m. PST |
The Greeks and the Turks were at it 200 years ago. I think the British were supposed to be ones calming them down. |
| ancientsgamer | 18 Apr 2018 9:59 p.m. PST |
Actually Turkey went bonkers in the last administration. |
| Cacique Caribe | 18 Apr 2018 10:14 p.m. PST |
Did they ever stop? They just have lots of little pauses. Dan |
| PMC317 | 19 Apr 2018 1:23 a.m. PST |
Well, given the Greeks have been fighting various Eastern Mediterranean powers since, er, several centuries BCE… …I'm not holding my breath that this is a lasting peace between the New Ottomans and the Greeks. |
| Royston Papworth | 19 Apr 2018 7:33 a.m. PST |
has the Greek economy recovered enough that they can afford a war? |
| Andrew Walters | 19 Apr 2018 9:24 a.m. PST |
This is an interesting question. It's hard to imagine them going to war for any number of reasons, but that thinking is limited by rationality. Both countries have plenty of other problems, and both are going through significant political changes. It's possible in all the turmoil that a moment could occur where the politicians in charge, thinking about themselves and not their countries and their people, could see armed conflict as a means to some other end. That doesn't seem likely to me, but stranger things have happened. Here's hoping rationality limits everyone's thinking. |
| Lion in the Stars | 19 Apr 2018 2:21 p.m. PST |
Yeah, not sure this is really news. I'm sure the Greeks are trying to rattle the sabers to try to kick up defense spending, which does have the advantage of in-country job creation. |
| Howler | 22 Apr 2018 9:40 a.m. PST |
Does Turkey get along with anyone? |
| Cacique Caribe | 23 Apr 2018 4:20 p.m. PST |
Wait, what just happened? The discussion was moving along much better than many others. Dan |
| per ardua | 24 Apr 2018 3:12 p.m. PST |
I was in Cyprus during the 1996 stand off. Lots of twitching going on by the Greeks and turks one both sides of the island. Nowt happened. |
