Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s leadership is experiencing a period of political instability and geopolitical aggression, cloaked in rhetoric of peace and stability.
This is a regime that draws its strength not only from internal authoritarianism but also from a systematic distortion of foreign policy—one that directly affects Greece.
Despite Erdogan’s peaceful public image, he has built a deeply centralized and arbitrary system of governance. Domestically, opposition suppression has taken institutional form: CHP leader Özgür Özel faces legal maneuvers aimed at annulling his election, while the popular Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has been convicted on questionable charges and risks political exclusion. The pro-Kurdish opposition has been persecuted, municipalities seized and handed to government-appointed administrators, and the entire state apparatus transformed into a tool of control and intimidation.
At the same time, Ankara’s foreign policy is marked by persistent contradictions. While presenting itself as a mediator in conflicts such as Russia-Ukraine or Israel-Palestine, in practice Turkey follows a highly militarized approach: conducting operations in Iraq and Syria, intervening in Libya, escalating tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, and supporting Azerbaijan with drones in the Caucasus.
Greece, in this context, cannot afford complacency. Erdogan is rapidly strengthening Turkey’s defense industry and creating new military units, shaping a war scenario that directly targets Greek national security. The formation of an Amphibious Army Corps with three Marine
Brigades, procurement of new amphibious armored personnel carriers (ZAHHA type), increased production of drones, helicopters, ammunition, and naval reinforcements indicate Ankara’s preparation for a broader conflict.
Information from the Greek defense establishment is clear: Turkey is planning possible fronts at five different points — Thrace, the Aegean Sea, the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone, the Eastern Mediterranean, and even within Greek territory through hybrid threats. The rhetoric about peaceful coexistence is essentially a strategic distraction.
Greece must remain in a state of constant strategic vigilance. Arms procurement, international alliances, and the fortification of its islands are not warmongering choices but necessary deterrent actions. The EU and the US must stop interpreting Erdogan’s rhetoric as sincere diplomacy. Turkey today is governed by a regime that uses democratic language to mask a deeply anti-democratic reality. This makes it dangerous—not only for Greece but for the entire region.
