Athens fumes after NATO praises Turkey over 1922 war victory against Greece
The post is referring to the 1919-1922 Greek-Turkish war where Greek troops were forced to retreat amid massive military and human losses on the ground. [Shutterstock/Andrzej Rostek]
Greece filed a complaint to NATO’s chief Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday after the Ankara-based Allied Land Command (LANDCOM) praised Turkey on social media for its victory against Greece in a war in 1922.
Particularly, LANDCOM wished a “happy Victory and Turkish Armed Forces Day to our host nation […] On this very special day, we would like to express our gratitude to Türkiye for their hospitality as our hosts here at LANDCOM”.
“Since joining NATO in 1952, Türkiye has participated in multiple operations and exercises and has always demonstrated the great professionalism and tenacity of its soldiers,” LANDCOM added.
The post refers to the 1919-1922 Greek-Turkish war, where Greek troops were forced to retreat amid massive military and human losses.
That period of history is still considered sensitive in Greek public opinion.
LANDCOM had made a similar post last year, which then withdrew after Greece’s strong reaction. However, the post was repeated this year, causing anger again in Athens.
According to the diplomatic complaint filed by the Permanent Representative of Greece to NATO, it is considered unacceptable to connect the national day of the armed forces of Turkey with a day of victory against an allied country.
The incident also caused the reaction of the main opposition, Syriza (EU Left), which accused the ruling New Democracy party (EPP) of having adopted the logic of a “given ally” in foreign matters.
Following years of tensions, Greece and Turkey decided to de-escalate and seek a “reset” in their relations after both Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis managed to be re-elected earlier this year.
Moreover, the two leaders are expected to meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly at the end of September.
During the escalation times with Turkey, especially regarding the maritime dispute in southeastern Europe, the EU backed Greece on its positions, calling on Ankara to de-escalate and follow the diplomatic path.
At a NATO summit in July, the EU decided to “re-energise” Turkey’s EU future to unblock Sweden’s accession to NATO, which was firmly opposed for quite some time by Ankara.
(Sarantis Michalopoulos | EURACTIV.com)