In late November, the UAE and Greece signed a defense cooperation agreement that strengthens intelligence sharing and allows each country’s military to be stationed in the other’s territory in the event of an immediate threat, as well as intelligence sharing. The accompanying passages from Turkish sources analyze what this means for Turkey in light of its tensions with both countries.
The first article from Ahval News, an independent Turkish online news portal, states that the agreement has “strategic ramifications for Turkey” considering both countries’ opposition to Turkish foreign policy in many theaters. The author notes that “[t]he military aspect of the partnership is particularly noteworthy” because both countries pledged to militarily support one another “if their territorial integrity comes under threat.”
The tensions between Greece and Turkey go back decades. However, in recent years, the tensions have escalated due to natural gas exploration off the coast of Cyprus and Turkey’s “attempted drilling in disputed waters in the Aegean Sea.” The UAE has been in a regional cold war with Turkey since 2017. The article quotes an independent Turkish research group as saying the Greece-UAE deal “may pave the way for some important arms sales and purchase contracts next year” because Greece intends to “upgrade its military arsenal, particularly its warships and older fighter jets” and hopes the UAE will sponsor some of these upgrades. The Turkish group “forecast[s] that the UAE will transfer its entire, and very modernized, deadly Mirage 2000-9 fleet to Greece.”
The second article from pro-government Hürriyet quotes a Greek newspaper saying that while the defense agreement between Greece and the UAE does not explicitly state that it was signed to thwart Turkish threats, considering tensions between Turkey and these countries, the objective becomes obvious.
Greece and the United Arab Emirates have signed a defense agreement that could have strategic ramifications for Turkey given these countries’ mutual opposition to its foreign policy.
Source: Paul Iddon, “How significant is the Greece-UAE defence agreement?,” Ahval News, 28 November 2020. https://ahvalnews.com/turkish-foreign-policy/how-significant-greece-uae-defence-agreement
Greece and the United Arab Emirates have signed a defense agreement that could have strategic ramifications for Turkey given these countries’ mutual opposition to its foreign policy.
…The military aspect of the partnership is particularly noteworthy since it compels each country to come to the aid of the other if their territorial integrity comes under threat.
Greece strongly opposes Turkey’s drilling for natural gas inside Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), its establishment of an enormous EEZ with Libya and its attempted drilling in disputed waters in the Aegean Sea. The UAE is locked in a region-wide cold war with Turkey and supports Greece in its territorial disputes.
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“The cooperation with the UAE has flourished in the last year, especially because the UAE has criticised the Turkish-Libyan MoU
(memorandum of understanding) on maritime zones,”…
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While Tzogopoulos believes it is positive that Greece’s foreign policy is multidimensional, he stressed that this cannot solve Greece’s ongoing maritime disputes with Turkey. Consequently, he believes that Greece should undertake the diplomatic initiative of beginning dialogue with the aim of delimiting the continental shelf.
“Without a solution to this problem, tensions will be continuously on the rise in the eastern Mediterranean,”…
Analysts at the Ankara-based BlueMelange, an independent research group of Turkish Defense News, believe this latest pact is “much more complex” than the Israel-Greece-Cyprus tripartite defense and security agreement reached in September.
“According to our analysis, this deal may pave the way for some important arms sales and purchase contracts next year,” they told Ahval.
Greece is presently seeking to upgrade its military arsenal, particularly its warships and older fighter jets. BlueMelange anticipates the UAE sponsoring some of these upgrades.
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“This win-win alliance is only part of a huge anti-Turkish pact, unfortunately…”
Source: Yorgo Kirbaki, “Yunanistan ve BAE’den askeri işbirliği (Military cooperation between Greece and UAE),” Hürriyet, 23 November 2020. https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/dunya/yunanistan-ve-baeden-askeri-isbirligi-41669272
During the visit of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last week, a defense cooperation agreement was signed, which includes the clause that if territorial sovereignty of either of the two countries is threatened, the other should provide assistance…
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Kathimerini wrote “although it was not pointed out that it was against a third country, the agreement was signed with Turkey in mind. This agreement is the most important success of Mitsotakis’ visit to the UAE.” The newspaper also noted that the agreement allows the military forces of one country to be deployed to the territory of another and to exchange intelligence when deemed necessary.
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