A senior Greek diplomatic source has delivered a direct warning to Turkey: as long as Ankara maintains its threat of war...

A senior Greek diplomatic source has delivered a direct warning to Turkey: as long as Ankara maintains its threat of war against Greece, it will not be admitted into any European defense mechanisms. The source made clear this is a matter of principle for Athens, not negotiation. The casus belli, a formal Turkish parliamentary declaration that Greece's arming of Aegean islands constitutes grounds for war, remains on the books. Athens has consistently demanded its removal as a baseline condition for normalized relations. On Greece-Turkey relations more broadly, the source said communication channels at all levels have "never stopped," including during the recent spike in tensions. But Greece will not make concessions on its core positions, and when Turkey takes actions that cross those red lines, "there will be a corresponding response," the source warned. Greece holds the UN Security Council presidency in October, which the source described as a significant platform. Athens will have "a major say" in the selection of the next UN Secretary-General and has already formed views on which candidates align with its positions. On the Cyprus issue, the source saw "significant movement" but no grounds for optimism in the short term, calling Turkish President Erdogan's recent positioning "unproductive" despite Ankara's somewhat softer tone on the bilateral front. The source also flagged serious concern over a potential food crisis if current conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine continue to disrupt supply chains. "It is absolutely certain that if this continues, it will lead to a food crisis and a very large increase in the prices of basic goods," the source said. Greece itself has sufficient energy reserves for this winter, but the broader European picture is a different story, with the source calling for collective EU action to avoid "energy asphyxiation." On Iran, Athens maintains an open channel but holds no optimism for immediate de-escalation, with the Iranian side unwilling to move on its core demands including sanctions relief and a broader regional ceasefire. #Greece #Turkey #EuropeanDefense