Island dispute and northern Syria: Cavusoglu and Baerbock fight on the open stage

Island Dispute and Northern Syria
Cavusoglu and Baerbock fight on the open stage

7/29/2022 9:04 p.m

Foreign Minister Baerbock is visiting Istanbul, and a meeting with her counterpart does not go well. Because the Green politician repeatedly criticized Turkey, Cavusoglu shot back violently. Among other things, he accuses Germany of financing the imprisoned cultural promoter Kavala.

During Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock’s inaugural visit to Turkey, there was an open confrontation with her Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu. In the joint press conference in Istanbul, the two fought verbal battles about the expected Turkish offensive in northern Syria, the imprisonment of the opposition leader Osman Kavala in Turkey and the island dispute between Greece and Turkey.

Baerbock had previously visited Athens and clearly sided with Greece in the dispute over Greek islands such as Rhodes, Kos and Lesbos in the eastern Mediterranean. The Turkish government is challenging Athens’ sovereignty over these islands and demanding the withdrawal of all Greek troops. “Greek islands are Greek territory and nobody has the right to question that,” said Baerbock in Athens after talks with her Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias and repeated this position in Istanbul.

Cavusoglu said that in such disputes, Germany must be solution-oriented, as it was under Chancellor Angela Merkel. “Ms. Merkel did that. To tell the truth, Germany was an honest mediator during this time. It was balanced. Germany’s policies were balanced,” Cavusoglu said. “I’m sorry to say that, but that’s how it was. And we respected that.” Lately he has seen “that this balance is unfortunately being lost”. Third countries like Germany “must not get involved in provocations and propaganda, especially from Greece and the Greek part of Cyprus.”

“We know how it was financed”

The two also clashed on the subject of Syria. Baerbock warned Cavusoglu of a new offensive in the neighboring country. Ankara wants to fight there the Kurdish militia YPG, which the government regards as a terrorist organization. It is known that Turkey is threatened by terror, and of course everyone has the right to self-defense, said Baerbock. However, this right included “neither retaliation nor abstract pre-emptive attacks”. The suffering of the Syrians would be made even worse by a renewed military conflict and new instability would arise, which only terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State (IS) would take advantage of.

Cavusoglu did not accept this argument. “First of all, this is not a military conflict, because a military conflict is between countries and armies,” he said. Rather, it is an operation against terror and the fight against terror.

Cavusoglu reacted particularly angrily to Baerbock’s criticism of the imprisonment of Turkish cultural promoter Osman Kavala. The Green politician emphasized that judgments by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) must be respected. “For me, this also includes the release of Osman Kavala ordered by the European Court of Human Rights,” she said.

Cavusoglu reacted angrily, accusing Baerbock of putting Kavala on the agenda but ignoring it when other countries failed to comply with Court rulings. He also accused Germany of exploiting Kavala. “Because you use Osman Kavala against Turkey and finance him,” he said. “We know how he was funded during the Gezi events, we know how much you supported him. That’s why you keep Osman Kavala on the agenda.” Kavala was sentenced to life in prison in April in connection with the 2013 Gezi protests. The judgment provoked sharp international criticism. Kavala has been in prison since 2017.

Also dispute in Greece

Baerbock made a conscious decision to combine her inaugural visits to the two quarreling NATO partners Turkey and Greece. “We need unity, we need dialogue, we need prudent action in these difficult times,” she said in Athens, referring to the Ukraine war and its consequences. Disputes within the ranks of the alliance are exactly what Russian President Vladimir Putin wants.

But the visit to Greece was not without conflict either. Greek Foreign Minister Dendias sharply criticized German arms exports and the sale of submarines to Turkey. “With these submarines there is a great danger that the balance of power in the Mediterranean will be thrown off balance,” he said.

Another unresolved issue between the two countries at the meeting was once again Greece’s demands for reparations for the destruction caused by the German occupiers in World War II. “I would like to underline that the issue of Germany’s reparations remains open to the Greek government, but mainly to Greek society,” Dendias said. The issue must be resolved, it is a question of principle.

Baerbock, on the other hand, referred to the fundamental German rejection of such demands. Berlin considers the issue legally closed and refers to the two-plus-four agreement on the foreign policy consequences of German reunification from 1990.

However, there could be progress in the planned exchange of rings with Greece to supply Ukraine with armored personnel carriers. “I think we’re on the right track here,” said Baerbock. It is about the delivery of around 100 Greek armored personnel carriers of Soviet design of the BMP-1 type to the Ukraine. Greece is to receive “Marder” armored personnel carriers from Germany. However, the Greek side does not want to deliver their tanks until the replacement from Germany has arrived.