US seeking closer Greece ties to contain Turkey, analyst says

Turkey’s growing leverage as a regional power in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has prompted the United States to strengthen ties with Greece as a means of containing Turkey, a local expert told state-run Anadolu agency in an analysis published on Friday.

“Turkey’s rise as an autonomous regional power is the main factor in this intensifying Greek-US cooperation,” Hasan Koni, a professor at Istanbul Kultur University, told Anadolu.

Turkey’s “Blue Homeland” foreign policy doctrine, the growing capabilities of the Turkish Navy, and Ankara’s role in the Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts, Koni said, have had “a profound impact on Greek decision-makers.”

At the same time, Koni said, Washington’s decision to strengthen security ties with Greece is aimed at “containing Turkey… by empowering Greece,” he said, referring to the ratification of the Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement (MDCA), the potential purchase of advanced US-built F-35 fighter jets, and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ recent meeting with US President Joe Biden.