In an article published in the online edition of Der Tagesspiegel (10/2/2026), entitled “Athens and Ankara Test Their Limits in the Aegean”, Nicolas Kaufmann features the views of Professor Panayotis Tsakonas on the fragile status of the “calm waters” in the Aegean and Greece’s low expectations ahead of the forthcoming official meeting between the Greek Prime Minister and the Turkish President in Ankara.
Selected excerpts from the interview:
“According to Panayotis Tsakonas, Professor of International Relations at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, the incidents demonstrate Ankara’s ‘unchanged stance’ toward Greece—at times ‘in an extreme and provocative manner’—although Ankara’s responses are often linked to Greek initiatives, such as the creation of marine parks or the planned project to lay an electricity cable in the Mediterranean connecting Greece, Cyprus, and Israel. From the Turkish perspective, these Greek initiatives are perceived as attempts by Greece to create faits accomplis,” Professor Tsakonas stated in response to a question from Tagesspiegel.
While Turkey is militarily superior and has a mature defence industry, the Greek government is currently investing billions in modernizing its armed forces. “Achieving a strategic balance in the Eastern Mediterranean remains the overarching objective for the Greek side”, Tsakonas notes, “while at the same time Greece is forging alliances, for example with Israel and Cyprus. The action plan signed with both countries includes military exercises as well as joint training of the armed forces.”
Regarding the upcoming Mitsotakis–Erdoğan meeting in Ankara, Tsakonas underlines the absence of high expectations, alongside recognition of the need to keep channels of communication open between the two countries.
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