Tensions between Turkey and other Nato members represent the biggest threat to the alliance’s cohesion, Greece’s Defence Minister said.
Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos said Greece was not seeking to isolate Turkey from a series of initiatives it agreed on with countries, including the UAE, to promote regional stability.
But he said Ankara must abide by international law and tone down its often inflammatory rhetoric to be included.
The already frayed relations between Nato members Greece and Turkey plummeted last year amid a row over maritime territory and access to gas reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean. The EU was dragged into the dispute, with the bloc backing member state Greece.
“The main threat to Nato’s internal cohesion comes from the strains between Turkey and other allies. I wouldn’t want to include just Greece in that,” Mr Panagiotopoulos told a webinar hosted by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
He referred to the tense situation last summer, when France temporarily withdrew support for Nato’s Mediterranean mission after a French frigate came precariously close to clashing with Turkish vessels.
While the Greek defence minister said the situation with Turkey had since improved, the tension of 2020 “ultimately serves to destabilise Nato’s cohesion”.
“But I do believe that in order to keep a stable and coherent Nato, especially in its south-eastern flank, we must make sure that tensions of this sort do not repeat themselves,” he said. “That’s the shared opinion of all our friends and allies in Nato and Europe.”
Last month, a landmark meeting in Paphos brought together senior foreign affairs officials from the UAE, Greece, Cyprus and Israel in order to strengthen their partnership.
Mr Panagiotopoulos said Greece wanted Turkey to be a good neighbour should it want to be included in similar partnerships.
“We would like Turkey – I don’t want to be misunderstood on that – to become a member of these schemes. But in order for that to happen, Turkey has to comply with the rules,” he said.
“I understand that Turkey has faced its own internal problems – economic problems, political problems that compelled President Erdogan to align himself with a more hardcore nationalist element within the Turkish political framework.
"But in order to be a reliable security providing actor in the region, I think that the first thing that one needs to do is to agree to comply by international law.”
SPECS
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MATCH INFO
England 241-3 (20 ovs)
Malan 130 no, Morgan 91
New Zealand 165 all out (16.5ovs)
Southee 39, Parkinson 4-47
England win by 76 runs
Series level at 2-2
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
BIG SPENDERS
Premier League clubs spent £230 million (Dh1.15 billion) on January transfers, the second-highest total for the mid-season window, the Sports Business Group at Deloitte said in a report.
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Brave CF 27 fight card
Welterweight:
Abdoul Abdouraguimov (champion, FRA) v Jarrah Al Selawe (JOR)
Lightweight:
Anas Siraj Mounir (TUN) v Alex Martinez (CAN)
Welterweight:
Mzwandile Hlongwa (RSA) v Khamzat Chimaev (SWE)
Middleweight:
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Rustam Chsiev (RUS)
Mohammad Fakhreddine (LEB) v Christofer Silva (BRA)
Super lightweight:
Alex Nacfur (BRA) v Dwight Brooks (USA)
Bantamweight:
Jalal Al Daaja (JOR) v Tariq Ismail (CAN)
Chris Corton (PHI) v Zia Mashwani (PAK)
Featherweight:
Sulaiman (KUW) v Abdullatip (RUS)
Super lightweight:
Flavio Serafin (BRA) v Mohammad Al Katib (JOR)
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Info
What: 11th edition of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship
When: December 27-29, 2018
Confirmed: men: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Kevin Anderson, Dominic Thiem, Hyeon Chung, Karen Khachanov; women: Venus Williams
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae, Virgin megastores or call 800 86 823
'Manmarziyaan' (Colour Yellow Productions, Phantom Films)
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal
Rating: 3.5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
J%20Street%20Polling%20Results
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