Turkish media continued hyping up the supposed threat the country faces from Greece, as in the latest iteration, pro-Erdogan outlets claimed the US bases in Alexandroupolis in northeastern Greece were targeted against Turkey and could be used as a military springboard for a strike.
A large portion of the pro-government media has been inflating Ankara’s narrative about the goals of the American bases in Greece, with President Erdogan publicly questioning – last June – “against whom these bases were installed”.
Turkish officials, journalists, analysts, retiree military officials, etc. continued in a coordinated fashion the crescendo of provocative reports against Greece and the USA, discovering “enemies” and “threats” and creating a “pro-war” climate in Turkish public opinion.
In a CNN Turk show, journalist Hande Firat, presenting a relevant map, commented on the American presence in Alexandroupolis, implying that it is “targeting” Turkey and not Russia. “You see the base of Alexandroupolis, which is right in front of us. The bases have already become a topic of discussion. They reported that in Alexandroupolis there will be a naval base where warships will be able to approach. For what reason? What is the goal and what is the purpose? And if it is said that it is for Russia, how believable is that?’
Abdulkadir Selvi, a Turkish columnist, and journalist, currently working at Hürriyet, is also hosted on the panel of the same show, who argued that the US seeks to encircle Turkey, through the bases in Alexandroupolis and Crete, but also in Cyprus, where the embargo on the sale of American weapons was recently lifted.
“When we refer to what is happening in Cyprus, we must see that the events start from Alexandroupolis, where a circle, a chain has been created. There are naval bases, air bases, and early warning systems. So there are 9 to 10 bases there. They control the Aegean and are now coming to the Mediterranean. There is Crete but it is not enough for them” commented Selvi, claiming that the lifting of the embargo on the sale of American weapons to the Republic of Cyprus is a step toward the American presence on the island. “The arrival of the USA in Cyprus and the provision of weapons systems is a step. Because they challenge us through Greece. Because Greece is either locking our fighters with the S-300 radars or attacking commercial ships,” argued the columnist of Hürriyet defiantly.
In the same broadcast, military analyst Mete Yarar questioned why the US was not supporting Ukraine through Poland, but through its presence at the new Alexandroupolis military base. “Since the ships will not pass through the Straits, what is your goal from the Alexandroupolis naval base? What will they achieve with a naval base here? I always say that when the US has specific and different goals, they always come with their bases,” he said.
TGRT HABER: “The USA behind the “vagaries” of Greece”
The journalists – presenters of the TGRT Haber network share the same sentiment. Presenter Tuna Ozturk, presenting a large map of Greece with the American presence in Greece, commented that the USA ” is encircling” Turkey. “The US is turning the islands ceded by Greece into military bases. This means the following. Turkey geostrategically, if we can say so, is in a state of encirclement. On one side in the Aegean, on the other side partly in the Mediterranean, even in Western Thrace, at the exit gate to Europe, in all these places there is an American presence” he argued, then pointing to the map and blaming Greece about “vagaries” behind which America is hiding. “When you see the map, observing it from a strategic point of view, you see that your borders have been surrounded by a superpower behind the whims that Greece is doing in the last period, there is the influence of America,” he said.
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