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On Tuesday, November 8th, Americans will be heading to the polls to vote in a midterm election that many anticipate will have an enormous impact on the direction of the US. While it looked like Democrats may have gained some momentum late this summer, polling shows that Republicans are regaining the edge, meaning the leadership of the House and the Senate is up for grabs. The outcome of the...

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The Mediterranean, which connects Europe, Africa and the Middle East, is once again on the frontlines of important developments - as it stands at the crossroads of multiple crises engineered by Russia as part of its effort to weaken Europe’s resolve. In addition, China and Iran are looking to make inroads into the region, while countries like Turkey have also embraced a disruptive role,...

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Late last week 92 asylum seekers were found by Greek police and European border guards stripped naked at the Evros border between Greece and Turkey. Questions about this incident spilled over onto Twitter, where Greece and Turkey traded accusations about what happened as Greece’s officials said that Turkey orchestrated the incident. In 2020 Turkey encouraged migrants to storm the Evros border,...

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While everyone’s attention is on Ukraine, key developments in Syria have gone under the radar. Recent reports put the spotlight on Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the jihadi faction that runs the northwestern province of Idlib, which had moved into Afrin, the Kurdish-majority enclave that was occupied by Turkey in 2018. This move, and the broader trend we are seeing of gradual HTS expansion and...

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This week is largely seen as crucial for European leaders as they work to make sure rising energy prices and short supplies do not further tank their struggling economies while keeping all 27 members united in their opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Leading up to this week’s key summit, the European Commission announced a set of new emergency measures - including seeking a price...

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Tensions in the Aegean, Turkish overflights over Greek islands and its violations of Greek airspace, and the evolving story in the US over the sale of F-16s to Turkey have put the issue of air superiority in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean into focus. Today the pendulum is swinging toward Greece, as it has taken key steps to bolster its air-defense capabilities while Turkey has seen...

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Turkey’s President Erdogan and Russia’s President Putin met this week in Kazakhstan, where Putin floated a proposal to turn Turkey into an energy hub that could feed Europe with Russian gas. On Friday, Erdogan gave the project the green light, saying that Turkey and Russia had instructed their respective energy authorities to immediately begin technical work on Putin’s proposal. This proposal...

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Despite the fact that amendments attaching strings to the sale of F-16 fighter jets and upgrade kits to Turkey were not included in the US Senate’s version of the annual defense spending bill, or the NDAA, this week, the issue of US F-16 sales to Turkey is not over. This was made clear when Senator Menendez tweeted that he will not approve any F-16s for Turkey until Erdogan halts his campaign...

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Prime Minister Mitsotakis has said that he believes Britain is edging closer to returning the Parthenon Marbles, and will raise the subject with the UK’s new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, on an upcoming visit to London this year. Mitsotakis said he believes the “mood is changing in the UK,” a reference to reports that, after decades of defensiveness, the British Museum may be ready to do a deal....

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It’s been roughly a week since Turkey and the Tripoli-based Libyan government signed an agreement on hydrocarbon exploration, a follow up agreement to their illegal 2019 memorandum on their exclusive economic zones that completely disregards geography and international law. Greece is looking to its partners and allies amid concerns that this latest deal could further escalate tensions in the...

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The war in Ukraine seems to have given Turkey’s President Erdogan a renewed lease on life in Western capitals, while at the same time giving Turkey leverage to press its Western allies into ignoring its non-stop abuses - primarily directed against NATO ally Greece - simply to get Turkey to help Ukraine against Russia. This dynamic is playing out most clearly in DC with Turkey’s request to...

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Europe’s attention was on Prague on Thursday and Friday as the leaders of Europe’s countries, from the broader region and the EU specifically, met to tackle key issues facing the continent - from the war in Ukraine to the looming energy crisis. Aside from attempting to tackle these pressing issues, the two days also saw lingering tensions come to the forefront. Turkey’s Erdogan once again...

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A close reading of recent statements and threats by President Erdogan and Turkish officials that target not only Greece, but also the US, as well as a consistent pattern of events over the last months, show that the risk of conflict between Turkey and Greece is on the rise. Ryan Gingeras, a professor in the Department of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School, an expert on...

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The New York Times recently took its readers to a small village in the southern Peloponnese, Iklaina, where archeologists have uncovered a site that is opening a new window into the world of the Mycenaean civilization, the world described by Homer in the Iliad and Odyssey. Dr. Michael Cosmopoulos, the endowed Professor of Greek studies and Professor of Archaeology at the University of Missouri,...

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In 2019 Turkey signed a memorandum with the Tripoli-based government in Libya to split the Eastern Mediterranean in two, completely disregarding international law and Libya’s neighbors like Greece and Egypt. On Monday, Turkey took this a step further, announcing that it had signed an agreement with Libya’s interim government allowing for Ankara’s oil rigs and research ships to search for oil...

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As EU leaders prepare to head to Prague, they will be called on to find answers to the pressing questions around rising energy costs. A small majority of EU states, including Greece, has called on Europe to place a cap on natural gas prices as a way for Europe to not only take back control of its gas market, but strike back at Russia, which is weaponizing energy to put pressure on Europe. Prime...

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Azerbaijan’s recent attacks against Armenia have once again seen calls for the US to revoke a waiver that the current and previous administrations have issued to Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, thus cutting military aid to Azerbaijan. Given that Azerbaijan’s aggression is directly linked to Turkey, which openly supports Baku, the question has been raised whether Congress should apply a...

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Google made a major announcement from Athens on Thursday, laying out its plans to set up its first regional cloud service hub in Greece. This investment follows major decisions by Microsoft and Amazon to set up shop in Greece, and promises to create nearly 20,000 jobs through direct investment and partnerships by the end of the decade while giving a boost to Greece’s efforts to become a...

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Turkey’s Erdogan is once again taking tensions with Greece to new heights with his statements this week accusing Greece of harboring terrorists and conducting a “covert occupation” of the eastern Aegean islands, language that is reminiscent of Putin’s statements before his invasion of Ukraine. At the same time he’s also targeting the US and the deepening US-Greece relationship, calling on the...

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On Tuesday Senators Bob Menendez and Marco Rubio introduced bipartisan legislation condemning Azerbaijan’s recent unprovoked attack on Armenia and calling for the immediate end to US security assistance to Azerbaijan. This is the latest effort from members of Congress to hold Azerbaijan and President Aliyev - who is backed by Turkey - accountable. These moves also follow a recent landmark visit...

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