Page 27 - TURKRptOct22

2.8 Politics - shorts
The tensions between Turkey and Greece do not make much sense, they are pure theatre. Both “semi-colonies” are getting ready for some elections and some tensions are required to occupy the media and persuadable electorate.
For a taste of how far it could all go in reality, you can check out the so-called Kardak crisis in 1996. Greek and Turkish special forces staged some adventurism on a small rock in the Aegean Sea.
The US does not currently want Turkey and Greece to engage in battle. In 1974, it wanted Turkey to attack Cyprus to overthrow the coup governments in Greece and on the island. The coup government in Greece had left Nato.
So, Greece was not a Nato member and Turkey did not attack Greece but the coup government in Cyprus. The Cyprus coup government could not even respond. Both coup governments in Greece and Cyprus collapsed with Turkey’s first operation.
Turkey later turned it into an occupation with its second operation three weeks later and it paid the bill with the 1980 coup. And, so on.
Such a situation is not the case at the moment.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is not an alternative to Nato or the EU. Plus, China and the rest do not really want Erdogan in the club. Erdogan is just fooling the fools. Again, ahead of elections.
Attacking Greece, blocking the Nato accession of Sweden and Finland, stirring some tensions with some Western countries, rebelling against the US and so on all amount to “identical” stories.
Erdogan knows how to herd the media and he loves to do it, treating the media as a tool. But, at the end of the day, these stories do not make sense beyond stealing the time of the pre-ballot box masses and filling heads with absolute nonsense.
Based on these media reports, some analyses that are totally surreal tend to emerge. They suggest no more than a tough guy doing some “really tough” stuff.
As to Erdogan’s prospects, he has finished himself off since 2018. His only chance to remain in power is to create a conflict or even a “fake war”. It could delay the absolute end while enlarging his bill, but that’s all. The most suitable places for a fake war remain northern Syria and northern Iraq.
Sweden's Inspectorate of Strategic Products (ISP) has lifted restrictions on exports of military equipment to Turkey, the ISP said on September 30.
The embargo was lifted in relation to Sweden's application for membership of Nato, of which Turkey is a member, it added.
Sweden and Finland halted arms exports to Turkey as a response to Turkish military operations targeting Kurdish-controlled areas in northern Syria.
After the two Nordic countries applied to join Nato in a reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Turkey demanded the resumption of arms exports.
27 TURKEY Country Report October 2022 www.intellinews.com