Editorial: Merkel's disappointment

“Aggressive”, “provocative”, and “disappointment” are words that when used by a moderate and low-key politician like German Chancellor Angela Merkel bear a certain weight.

Merkel used the first two to describe Turkey’s behaviour in the Mediterranean.

With the third she described her sentiments about the paltry results of her efforts to de-escalate tensions.

The current German European

Ιt is clear that the chancellor is aiming for something more that the (definitive?) return of the Turkish research vessel “Oruc Reis” to its base.

It is evident that she has no doubt about who bears the main if not exclusive responsibility for the impasse in efforts to launch a Greek-Turkish dialogue.

She underlined that the EU has channeled much effort into improving its relations with Turkey, but that there is a series of obstacles and difficulties that continually arise.

Merkel’s disappointment should not be misconstrued as a Greek victory, nor should it be interpreted as a step toward imposing sanctions on Turkey at next week’s EU summit.

That would not garner support from a number of EU member-states and it is doubtful whether it would benefit Greece.

Athens’ steadfast objective should not be to isolate neighbouring Turkey, with which Greece has no choice but to co-exist, but rather to find channels which can facilitate the start of an earnest dialogue.

Of course it takes two to tango. It also requires that neither side will try to trip the other.