At the heart of the European stance, an invisible yet dangerous line is increasingly emerging, one that treats both Ukraine and Turkey as countries against which the end seems to justify the means.
This could prove very dangerous in light of Turkey’s stance and claims regarding Greece and Cyprus.
Beyond the massive sums of money and other military assistance Europe is providing to Ukraine, it is also turning a blind eye to various issues that, in other circumstances, it would have strongly condemned.
From rampant corruption at the highest levels—directly linked to the foreign aid being provided lavishly—and the military and political influence of far-right extremist units and organizations, to the expansion of the war, via drones, against commercial targets in international waters.
As was also seen in Greece, with the Ukrainian drone in Lefkada.
The UPA, Poland, and European Silence
The issue of the far-right extremist movement in Ukraine and the infiltration of its members into key positions within the defense apparatus is not new.
Recently, however, it took a new turn when Zelenskyy himself signed a decree awarding the supposedly honorary title“Heroes of the UPA”to an elite unit of the Ukrainian special forces.
This move sparked fierce reactions in neighboring Poland, from the country’s president, all political parties, and even Lech Wałęsa.
This is because the UPA, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UIA), was a guerrilla organization of far-right extremists that fought for years alongside Nazi Germany and carried out extensive ethnic cleansing operations against Poles, with an estimated 120,000 men, women, and children killed.
Indeed, according to the consensus of most historians—including the staunchly pro-Ukrainian Timothy Snyder, in his 2010 articles— this organization was a fascist, nationalist movement that used mass murder and ethnic cleansing to achieve the creation of a homogeneous Ukrainian state.
It was also heavily involved, through numerous members, in the Holocaust and is held responsible for the ethnic cleansing of Polish civilians, centered on the massacres in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia, while it fought Germany only when Nazi objectives conflicted with Ukrainian independence.
According to Zelensky’s decree, however, the name was given to the elite unit “in order to revive the military traditions of the national army”!
Apart from Poland, there has been no reaction so far from the rest of Europe or the institutions of the European Union. Although the historical parallel would be for Serbian President Vučić to bestow upon an elite unit of his country the honorary title“Tigers of Arkan”—that is, the paramilitary units that spearheaded ethnic cleansing operations during the 1991–96 period!
All of this might have little practical significance for our country, were it not for the fact that the stance of European leaders toward Ukraine—this “the end justifies the means” approach— is increasingly and more openly extending to Turkey.
Turkey has been elevated by those same European leaders to the status of an invaluable ally, following the U.S. intention to partially disengage from its obligations to NATO and Europe.
We documented the reasons for this, expressing concern when this trend first emerged, about 15 months ago, in the article“How Idealism Became Pro-Turkish Sentiment.”
Turkey is testing Europe’s limits
These concerns are now proving to be entirely justified. Erdogan has literally “run amok” within Turkey, using the judiciary to imprison or politically neutralize anyone who might stand in his way. The opposition is on the verge of being eliminated.
The EU’s reactions range from meager to nonexistent, with the exception of some moves in the European Parliament, while at the same time Turkey is hardening its claims against Greece, turning occupied Cyprus into a forward outpost, and escalating tensions in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean.
The leadership of the neighboring country has become so brazen that it blocked Cyprus from participating in pre-conference activities for the COP-31 global climate conference in Antalya, even though Cyprus currently holds the presidency of the Council of the EU. And following European reactions, he promised not to… do it again.
The “sultan’s” tactic is quite clear. Aware of the advantage Greece and Cyprus hold as EU members, he is driving a wedge by rapidly concluding bilateral defense cooperation agreements with various states, centered on his country’s undeniably strong defense industry.
In this way, he is preventing the formation of a unified and firm stance within the highest European institutions, as the European Parliament also noted when it “noted with regret the lack of a strong and unified response from the EU.”
Under these circumstances, and as the war with Russia may well intensify or even expand in a process of further escalation that is becoming increasingly likely, the Greek government’s stance, which is limited to lukewarm reactions, is beginning to evolve into a strategic disadvantage.
From this perspective, the policy of“calm waters”has reached its limits and is becoming a tool for Erdogan to advance the goals of Turkish policy.
It encourages Europe’s hypocritical stance and lends credence to the notion that tensions have supposedly subsided.
The upcoming tests for Athens and Nicosia
There are critical tests ahead of us that must not be ignored. From the much-discussed “Blue Homeland” bill to energy interconnection cables, such as the Greece-Cyprus GSI and the interconnection of the Aegean islands.
The danger is that we may see the Europeans’ stance mirror that of the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaia Kallas, as recently reported by Kathimerini, regarding the Ukrainian drone in Lefkada.
In response to remarks made by Giorgos Gerapetritis and Nikos Dendias, the Estonian politician reportedly stated that“the problem that needs to be solved is Russian aggression.”
And then she changed the subject…