Let's start with some basic geography information that will help us understand the situation in which the 66-year-old Turkish president has found himself, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his country.
Turkey is part of southwest Asia, with a small part of its territory (3%) resting in southeastern Europe. It is the 37th largest country in the world, bordering Greece to the west, Bulgaria to the northwest, Georgia, Armenia, Iran to the east, and the enclave of the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan to the southeast, and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. In addition, in the south it has a maritime border with the Republic of Cyprus.
Of all these countries, in essence, only with Bulgaria does Mr Erdogan maintain excellent relations. After all, Erdogan has known his counterpart Boyko Borisov well since he was the first mayor of Istanbul and the second mayor of Sofia. With all the other neighboring states, a climate of tensions, threats and even war is recorded from time to time to such an extent that its foreign policy is no longer meaningful in terms of a realistic approach.
Even if the Turkish president wanted to become a modern "sultan" he should have known that the real sultans of the Ottoman Empire were careful to limit the conflicts to most of their borders, especially when they were very extensive.. This is because their protection was not always easy and if they opened a front on one side, they were always afraid of an unexpected attack from the other. Mr. Erdogan, however, does not think so and seems to choose multi-faceted attacks without taking into account the cost of such moves. Let's see in detail what is happening at its borders.
First of all, we are well aware of the relations it maintains with Greece, we do not need to analyze them in particular. Every three or so, it openly threatens us with war. For a month now, the research vessel "Oruc Reis" has been traveling illegally under the escort of the Turkish fleet in sea areas between Rhodes and Crete defined by irregular Navtex issued by Ankara, while the Turkish leadership makes constant references to the "Blue Homeland" doctrine, a term used to denote the seas, the continental shelf and the Exclusive Economic Zone that our eastern neighbors consider to belong to them.
Relations with Cyprus are similarly well known. Turkey still does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus while the occupation of the northern part of the island by the Turkish troops for 46 years remains a permanent "thorn".
At the same time, Tayyip Erdogan has made sure to sign a mid-November agreement. Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Prime Minister of the Government of the National Accord of Fragmented Libya Fayez al-Saraj, under which the two countries agree to co-operate in the "determination of maritime jurisdiction", once again intervening in the raging civil war in the North African country in order to drill for hydrocarbons off the Libyan coast.
Such a move, however, is now openly provoking not only Greece but also Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, as well as France and Russia, which support General Khalifa Haftar, who is fighting with his own army against the government of Tripoli and the Turkish supporters. Consider the fact that it was only in mid-July that the Egyptian parliament authorized President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to intervene militarily in Libya in the event that Ankara-backed Saraz forces attempt to enter the city of Sirte, the birthplace of Kirta. or hit the Tzoufra air base.
Turkey's continued involvement in the Libyan civil war, however, may put it at a disadvantage as President Erdogan also has open accounts with Syria. In the Middle East parliamentary elections held on July 19, 2020, on the sidelines of the 9-year civil war, the winner was once again the President of the Arab Socialist Renaissance Party of President Bashar al-Assad, which is not surprising. "Erdogan hastened to declare that the elections were inviolable, stressing with meaning that until the Syrian people are liberated and begin to live peacefully, we will remain in this country."
At the same time, Tayyip Erdogan has open fronts with the Kurds in the region of northern Iraq. Turkish forces have been conducting new military operations inside the territory of the Republic of Iraq since mid-June this year, officially aiming to dismantle the bases held by the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) there. As a direct first consequence, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar was declared undesirable. We remind you that in Turkey itself, the Kurds are the largest non-Turkish ethnic group, reaching according to various estimates 18% of the population.
At the same time, Turkey has rushed to side with Azerbaijan in its confrontation with Armenia, which is one of the countries with which it borders. Finally, a text posted on the website of the Turkish Foreign Ministry states that the country supports the territorial integrity of Georgia and does not recognize the so-called independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Nevertheless, instead of closing fronts, Turkey is constantly opening new ones. Many believe that there is a sequel…