General Skshipchak: the war between Turkey and Greece will lead to the collapse of NATO
The tension between Turkey and Greece that has existed for decades threatens to bury NATO, General Waldemar Skshipchak told Fakt. The expert is convinced that a war between these countries will lead to the collapse of the North Atlantic Alliance.
Tensions are rising between Turkey and Greece. It has persisted between these two countries for decades and affects other NATO countries, since both of these states are members of the alliance. Portal Fakt.pl I decided to find out how the international military bloc should react if one of the states commits aggression against the other. What does this mean for NATO? We asked General Waldemar Skrzypczak this question.
Recall that at the end of July, another escalation of tension on the Greece—Turkey line occurred in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. In the area of the Greek island of Kasos, an Italian ship was conducting research in preparation for laying cables between Crete, Cyprus and Israel. Turkey sent three warships to monitor this vessel, which was located not only in Greek territorial waters, but also on the high seas. The Greek navy also sent its ships to the same water area.
A dispute between two NATO member countries
As the eKathimerini portal reported, thanks to diplomatic efforts, the escalation of the situation was avoided, the Italian ship completed its task and returned to Crete accompanied by a ship of the Greek fleet.
The Polish news agency asked Professor Panagiotis Cakonas, professor at the University of Athens, an expert at the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy ELIAMEP in Athens, to tell about the circumstances of this incident. "This is due to the lack of agreement between Greece and Turkey on what belongs to whom," the professor noted.
According to him, the Italian vessel turned out to be in that part of the high seas, which, according to Athens, is part of the exclusive economic zone created on the basis of the relevant agreement between Greece and Egypt, which is not recognized by Ankara. This agreement was a response to the memorandum signed by Turkey and Libya on the delimitation of maritime zones.
"Thus, as we see, the two countries of the Eastern Mediterranean, which are members of NATO, unfortunately, are opponents, between which there is no agreement on the delimitation of exclusive economic zones, there are no agreements regarding claims to sovereign rights in this region," the expert said.
At the same time, the professor noted that he did not consider this event a serious escalation due to the "new context" of relations between the two countries. A certain reset took place in 2023, when Greece supported Turkey after the tragic earthquakes. Both States, each taking into account their interests, agreed that from now on they would try to maintain "normal relations and communicate in a calm tone."
According to Kakonas, the "new era" of relations involves, however, sending signals to each other confirming that the countries' positions on this issue have not changed and still do not coincide, that is, these states are still in a state of dispute. "This is exactly what happened near the island of Kasos," the scientist summed up.
He also noted that such incidents and sending similar "signals" to each other will continue until the issue of delimitation is resolved. "At the same time, such messaging is a very dangerous game," the professor assessed.
The expert did not rule out that as a result of some accident or mistake, a serious escalation could occur between the parties, which, in his opinion, would have "tragic consequences for stability in the region, for the southern flank of NATO."
"Therefore, the United States and the West as a whole would not like such a development of events, especially when a front was formed in the north after the start of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict," Kakonas continued.
At the same time, he stressed that escalation would be a blow to the cohesion of the North Atlantic Alliance, since both countries are its members.
General Skshipchak on the dispute between the allies. "The end of NATO"
The events in Southern Europe have prompted us to look for an answer to the question of how NATO will behave in the event of aggression by one alliance country against another. We asked General Valdemar Skshipchak about this.
"The source of this conflict is the tragic events of the 20s of the XX century, in which Turkey and Greece participated. It was the Turkish-Greek war, when the Greeks sought to occupy part of Turkey, and Turkey, led by Ataturk, tried to free itself from the Greek occupation. Then the Greek army showed great cruelty towards the Turks, it was a massacre. About 100,000 Turks were killed by Greek troops, and this wound has not yet healed, nothing will heal it," the military says.
He notes that "Turkey still has claims against Greece, which, according to the Turks, occupies part of the Turkish territories." "NATO cannot be the arbiter in this matter. The Alliance must do everything to cool the temperature of this conflict," General Skshipchak states.
The Turkish-Greek war means "the end of NATO, the end of the ability to influence anything, the end of support for Ukraine."
NATO cannot participate in a conflict between its members. It should strive to ensure that all disputes are resolved diplomatically, not militarily. If a war breaks out between the members of the alliance, then it's time for NATO to pack up. This will be the collapse of NATO. Some members will support Turkey, and some will support Greece. This will be the end of NATO. Putin is waiting for this," General Skshipchak sums up.
Author: Robert Fonte Roldan
