A Turkish nationalist newspaper is using the words of a Greek academic to back Ankara's position in the Eastern Mediterr...

A Turkish nationalist newspaper is using the words of a Greek academic to back Ankara's position in the Eastern Mediterranean. On October 23, Yeni Akit republished old statements by Alexis Heraclides, a Greek professor and former diplomat, under the headline "Shock Confession by Greek Professor Alexis Heraclides: Turkey Is Right, the Problem Lies with Us." Heraclides spent 15 years as a diplomat at the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Yeni Akit quoted him saying he could state with certainty that Turks are not aggressive, a remark that reportedly comes from an August 2020 interview. The paper also cited him arguing that Turkey holds legitimate interests in the Eastern Mediterranean given the length of its coastline, and that many Greeks treat the Aegean as a "Greek lake" while ignoring Turkey's position on the same sea. Yeni Akit did not conduct a new interview with Heraclides. The paper recycled past statements, and the exact wording and context of the quotes have not been independently verified. The timing is notable: the Turkey-Libya maritime memorandum has returned to the news cycle, and Ankara has been pressing its maritime claims in the region. Turkish nationalist outlets have a pattern of amplifying statements from foreign academics or officials that lend credibility to Ankara's positions. Yeni Akit sits on the hardline nationalist end of the Turkish press. The framing of Heraclides' remarks as a "shock confession" is itself a editorial choice designed to signal internal Greek dissent on the dispute. Whether those quotes accurately reflect Heraclides' full argument or have been stripped of qualifying context is unclear from what Yeni Akit published. #Greece #Turkey #EasternMediterranean