The “carrot and stick” is Turkish President Erdogan‘s favorite tactic. On the one hand, he appears more compromising and open in the dialogue with Greece and the EU, on the other hand, he reminds us that this very dialogue will be conducted on his own terms.

“Turkey is a Mediterranean country. We are not guests, but owners”, he said, speaking at a conference in Constantinople, sending a clear message about Turkey‘s position ahead of the upcoming EU summit.

“We are in favor of peace and cooperation, but against what has been done … The problem in the Mediterranean can be solved with the cooperation of all countries. There will be no peace in the Eastern Mediterranean, if there is any effort that leaves out Turkey and the Turkish-Cypriots”, he added.

“There are economic interests behind the provocations in the Eastern Mediterranean”, Erdogan said and added, “some have turned the Mediterranean into a refugee cemetery”.

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Then, however, the Turkish president reappeared as a proponent of dialogue and a…voice reason: “As a nation that is the continuation of the Ottoman Empire, we want a climate of peace to prevail in the region. We can solve the problems in the Mediterranean, not with exclusions, but with all the players in the area around the same table”.

He concluded: “Let us turn the Mediterranean into a basin of peace. Let us not pollute its waters with new hostilities”.

Speaking about the military escalation in the last hours in the Nagorno-Karabakh region between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the Turkish President stressed that Armenia should immediately withdraw from the territories of Azerbaijan, which it has invaded, which he called it “occupation”. The irony with what Turkey has been doing for the last 46 years in Cyprus, is obvious…