When the EU is the subject, everyone who is involved knows that the current situation in Greece is not actually new. It is also known that Greece tried for years to control the situation by presenting some figures and statistics that did not actually represent reality, and that bankruptcy was inevitable.
In brief, the EU is partly liable for the current condition of Greece. When we look at the big picture, we see that the EU has major problems, particularly fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and terrorism. According to a recently-released report, ISIS has gained strength despite all the set-backs it has encountered. "Coalition forces" sent their aircraft to the region against ISIS and announced that they bombed the terrorists and dropped aid packages to civilians. But still, the group that was expected to withdraw could not be undermined and, conversely, it grew even more in strength. It spread to more than half of Syria and its growth was noticed only within the last four months. Besides, it was revealed that four out of every five aid packages that the "coalition forces" air-dropped to the Kurds were seized by ISIS. In short, the problem of terror that stems from ISIS and foreign fighters and threatens EU acapitals is growing more dangerous with each passing day.
Also, the situation in the EU, which was caused by following Germany's erroneous policy on Ukraine, constitutes an acute problem both for the Russian and EU economies. What is more desperate is that the problem is growing even larger, as is the dilemma of finding a solution in terms of energy dependence.
Moreover, the reaction of the EU to Greek Cyprus and Greece due to relations with Russia is not persuasive to observers who closely follow the region. The EU ambassadors in Nicosia have been constantly warning their governments for the last decade. The agreements between Greek Cyprus and Russia on various subjects, including economic cooperation, security and the Russian navy's logistical use of Greek Cypriot ports were not signed confidentially. Greek Cyprus made considerable agreements in the energy field not only with Israel and Egypt, who are not EU members and currently are a great burden on the EU due to their wrong policies, but also with Russia.
The close relations between Greek Cyprus and Russia, for which the approval or opinion of the EU was not asked, were criticized by the EU on the grounds that they are cooperating for the sake of appearances. The EU has also remained indifferent to all these developments for a long time. Also, the support given to left-wing, communist, or anti-U.S. and Russian sympathizer political groups and parties by the majority of both the Greek Cypriot and Greek public is not a new phenomenon for those conducting accurate analyses. In Greek Cyprus, the Progressive Party of Working people (AKEL), a communist party that has reacted against the EU in the past, was the ruling party for years.
In Greece, it was possible to observe that protests against the U.S. always attracted one-hundred times more participants than protests against Russia. In light of this, it can be argued that while the EU was a mere spectator to Greece's economic self-depletion for decades, it was inevitable that those standing against the EU would become prominent in Greece in both right-wing and left-wing groups.
The German Chancellor Angela Merkel's calls to voters before the latest election in Greece boosted votes against the EU and Germany. Germany has to revise the policies implemented in recent years, and the EU has to analyze how it is mistaken in following these policies without criticizing them.
The mistakes began in Syria. Despite all the correct calls of Turkey, they abstained from intervening in Syria or removing the dictatorial President Bashar Assad. Assad's oppressive regime against his people left a free space for ISIS to emerge and grow. Relations with Ukraine, which drifted into chaos as a result of wrong analyses and alliances with the wrong forces and disrupted relations with Russia, which was deepened by the crisis stemming from inattentive diplomatic steps, require the EU to be self-critical.
Under these circumstances, the EU must act much more attentively in its relations with Greece than it has so far. The result of the efforts of the European Parliament President Martin Schulz exerted on the drilling matter in Athens is clear. Both sides need a serious ground for dialogue. We know that Greece owes a total of 315 billion euros to the EU and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
After the election, Greece's new finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, said that they would refuse to engage with the troika, which was already expected. Varoufakis said they were not going to co-operate with a badly constructed committee, adding that they would negotiate the issue with Eurozone leaders. We heard similar remarks even before the election.
However, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in his latest statement that he was sure that they could make an agreement with the troika on the issue of the repayment of debts. He underlined that they would pay their debts to the EU, European Central Bank and IMF. He said he was sure their agreement would favor everyone despite differing point of views.
This is not the only subject on which Greece issues contradictory statements. We should bear in mind the fact that in Greece, it is not the radical vows and promises, but the reasonable steps that are reflected in implementations in recent years.
While friendly statements are being made with regard to their relations with Turkey, there are also some provocative stances. Greece has lately displayed a highly contradictory approach toward the Cyprus issue.
At this point, Turkey, a country that can rightly analyze the complex atmosphere in Greece, continues to make friendly overtures. Provocative acts such as placing a wreath on Imia, a pair of islets in the Aegean Sea, have no chance to achieve their goals against Turkey.
The meticulous relations Turkey has fostered with post-election Greece and the diplomatic skills it represents actually set a good example for the EU
In order to prevent the aggravation of the crisis between the EU and Greece, Merkel should remain silent for a while and Germany should abstain from issuing harsh statements against Greece.
Although some in Brussels might be displeased with my opinion, I would like to say that the EU needs closer cooperation with Turkey due to the situation in Greece. The EU also needs cooperation with Turkey in order to fight ISIS and to prevent the growth of the crisis with Russia over Ukraine.
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