×
GreekEnglish

×
  • Politics
  • Diaspora
  • World
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Cooking
Monday
09
Feb 2026
weather symbol
Athens 17°C
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • World
  • Diaspora
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Mediterranean Cooking
  • Weather
Contact follow Protothema:
Powered by Cloudevo
> Politics

US eyes Greek island as alternative to Turkish base due to “disturbing” Erdogan actions

"From a defensive posture, I think we have to look at the reality of the situation that the path that Erdogan is on is not good"

Newsroom September 14 10:58

 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s “disturbing” foreign policy has spurred U.S. officials to intensify preparations to withdraw from Incirlik Air Force base, according to a senior Republican senator and American analysts.

“We don’t know what’s gonna happen to Incirlik,” Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee for Europe, told the Washington Examiner. “We hope for the best, but we have to plan for the worst.”

Erdogan has threatened American access to the base, which reportedly houses dozens of U.S. nuclear weapons, multiple times since he squashed a failed coup attempt in 2016.

A withdrawal would signal a major shift in the balance of trust between the United States and the country that boasts the second-largest military in NATO, but Erdogan’s increasing affinity for Russian President Vladimir Putin and truculence with other NATO allies has angered American officials and raised the specter of other crises in the transatlantic alliance.

“We want to maintain our full presence and cooperation in Turkey,” Johnson said. “I don’t think we want to make that strategic shift, but I think, from a defensive posture, I think we have to look at the reality of the situation that the path that Erdogan is on is not good”.

See Also:

Belgian city finds its former mayor’s heart in a fountain

Erdogan’s Greece: “Do not wander around the islands”

The disagreements between Turkey and other NATO allies has grown in recent years, in part due to Erdogan’s purchase of advanced Russian anti-aircraft missile systems — a decision that led President Trump’s administration to expel Turkey from the F-35 stealth fighter program. More recently, Erdogan has gotten embroiled in a maritime boundary dispute with Greece, a controversy grave enough to prompt NATO officials to intervene to try to ensure that the two alliance members avoided a military clash.

>Related articles

Kimberly Guilfoyle will be the maid of honor for Konstantinos Argyros and Alexandra Nika: “It’s an honor and a blessing”

The Wing Commander with the Double Face: What he wrote about China, authorities “investigate” his service in Cyprus in 2021

Giannis Panagopoulos: The lifelong president of GSEE and the paths of millions, who is being investigated by the Anti-Money Laundering Authority

“My main worry is an unintentional clash,” the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ senior Turkey analyst Aykan Erdemir, a former Turkish lawmaker and Erdogan critic, said during a discussion of the Turkey-Greece dispute. “Even a short-lived military conflict could be extremely detrimental to NATO. Because when you think about it, you know, from the Russian perspective, nothing could be better than two key members of NATO’s southeastern flank fighting with one another.”

Both Turkey and Greece joined NATO in 1952, but the U.S. relationship with the two countries is trending in opposite directions. “We’re already looking at Greece as an alternative,” Johnson said while considering a prospective exit from Incirlik.

Read more: Washington Examiner

Ask me anything

Explore related questions

#diplomacy#foreign policy#greece#Incirlik#NATO#negotiations#nuclear weapons#politics#republican#Sen. Ron Johnson#turkey#Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan#usa
> More Politics

Follow en.protothema.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news

See all the latest News from Greece and the World, the moment they happen, at en.protothema.gr

> Latest Stories

Kimberly Guilfoyle will be the maid of honor for Konstantinos Argyros and Alexandra Nika: “It’s an honor and a blessing”

February 9, 2026

Prince William and Kate speak out for the first time on the Epstein scandal: “Our thoughts remain firmly with the victims”

February 9, 2026

The Wing Commander with the Double Face: What he wrote about China, authorities “investigate” his service in Cyprus in 2021

February 9, 2026

Giannis Panagopoulos: The lifelong president of GSEE and the paths of millions, who is being investigated by the Anti-Money Laundering Authority

February 9, 2026

The Greek Epstein file: The crisis-bond businesses, Varoufakis, the unknown shipowner, and the Patmos circle

February 9, 2026

The Malesina conspiracy, Alexis’s springtime party and the Karahalios–Kasselakis entanglements, National Bank heading for Allianz, while EFET is asleep

February 9, 2026

Almost interest-free installments on an already “haircut” loan after the Supreme Court decision

February 9, 2026

What happened at AUTH after the unauthorized party: The 48-hour deadline set by the Ministry for the University to provide explanations is expiring (photos)

February 9, 2026
All News

> Politics

What Mitsotakis will say to Erdogan and what the Turks will put on the table – The lineup of Ministers for Ankara is being finalized

Government sources say that the main objective is to avoid disrupting the direct channel of communication at the highest level, which admittedly had weakened

February 9, 2026

Donald Trump invited Kyriakos Mitsotakis to the Peace Council on Gaza in February

February 8, 2026

Mitsotakis: Parties should enter dialogue on the Constitution without dogmatism – Zero tolerance for migrant smugglers

February 8, 2026

US Ambassador begins tours across Greece: From Zappeion to Washington, the vertical corridor

February 7, 2026

Regional and international developments discussed at Dendias–Indian Foreign Minister meeting

February 6, 2026
Homepage
PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION POLICY COOKIES POLICY TERM OF USE
Powered by Cloudevo
Copyright © 2026 Πρώτο Θέμα