In recent months, tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean reached new heights amidst war of words between Greek and Turkish leadership. Türkiye has accused Greece of militarizing the Aegean islands in contravention of international agreements while the Greek leadership leveled accused Turkey of threatening Greek sovereignty. Türkiye has also expressed its discomfort with American military hardware to be deployed to the islands and the recent lifting of arms embargo to Greek Cypriots. The two NATO allies, Greece and Türkiye, have had these episodes of increased tensions in the past but this latest round might have serious implications for the unity within the alliance in the wake of the war in Ukraine. There are also concerns about traditional U.S. policy of keeping the balance between Greece and Türkiye in terms of arms sales and transfers.

The SETA Foundation at Washington DC is pleased to organize an expert panel discussion on the dynamics and future implications of recent tensions between Greece and Turkiye.

Speakers

Mitat Çelikpala, Professor of International Relations and the Dean of Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences at Kadir Has University

Nurşin Güney, Professor of International Relations at Nişantaşı University

Kılıç Kanat, Research Director, SETA DC

Moderator

Kadir Ustun, Executive Director