The past few days have witnessed a significant and accelerating escalation of tension between Turkey and Greece, amounting to the threat of war and the slide toward the military option.

This came days after Ankara announced its intention to start drilling for oil and gas in disputed areas near Crete, according to the outputs of the memorandum of understanding signed by Turkey and the Libyan government of reconciliation.

Greek Defense Minister Nikos Panayotopoulos said in a television interview that his country is ready for everything in order to protect its sovereign rights, including military action against Turkey.

Turkish President Erdogan responded by saying that "Turkish exploration ships there are accompanied by warships and aircraft, and any mistake made by Greece will be punished."

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşo أوlu once compared the Greek defense minister to the spoiled child and demanded that his government seize him, because of his tensions that increase tension.

Turkish-Greek relations are going through a difficult stage of tension stemming from historical differences over land and sea borders, territorial waters, airspace, and the Cyprus island dossier.

To these are added new disputes related to oil and gas exploration in the Mediterranean, the refugee file, the hosting of "Turkish revolutionaries" by Greece, the dispute over "Hagia Sophia", the regional conflict in the region in general and Libya in particular.

While the Greek army received the remains of soldiers who died in the fall of another helicopter in 1964 by Turkish army fire (Reuters)

In 1996, Turkey shot down a Greek military helicopter, killing three officers, and matters almost developed into a severe military confrontation.

Last year, a Greek warplane fell and its leader was killed after Turkish aircraft intercepted it over the airspace of the Mediterranean, and other recurring incidents, one of which does not guarantee that one of them will develop a military confrontation.

Cautious coexistence
In this context, Turkish journalist Ismail Kaya said that despite the level of great escalation, this atmosphere is not considered an exceptional case that leads to the belief that the military confrontation is very close or that the diplomatic options have ended, considering that what is happening is nothing more than a continuation of a very long series of Renewed differences that countries have long found a formula to reduce tension.

And Kaya added in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net that it is not possible to assert also that this level of escalation will not lead to a military conflict, especially in light of the continuous friction between the two armies, land, sea and air, as there has always been widespread fear that any accidental military friction or incident may occur Not counted as a major military confrontation, as a week does not pass without an incident of interception of a military plane or military ship, he said.

He added that, due to the nature of the relations between the two countries that are accustomed to coexist with differences and preventing their development into a direct military clash, there are committees of the ministries of foreign affairs, defense and chiefs of staff between the two countries in order to continuously communicate to keep the differences under control.

The press writer indicated that a Greek delegation will visit Ankara in the coming days to discuss the recent differences, as he does not believe that there is a real desire to clash in either of the two countries, because it will be destructive and can or will it extend into a regional and international conflict in the event of its occurrence.

On the European and American stances in the event of a military confrontation, Kaya suggested that the European Union would be satisfied with Greece through statements, condemnations and attempts to pressure the diplomatic pressure on Turkey, and that the most that the European position reaches is to impose formal sanctions on Ankara.

Although Greece is a member of the European Union, Turkey is an authentic and historical member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which places NATO countries - especially European countries and the United States - in a difficult and complicated position, which forces them to not stand with one of the parties to the dispute, and make all efforts Possible to prevent the outbreak of any direct military conflict between the two countries, according to press author Kaya.

He pointed out that entering the United States or the European Union in favor of Greece means Turkey resorting to Russia and turning it into a war on an international scale, which in its entirety is a scenario that no one desires.

Dialogue is the solution,
and from Ankara, Ali Bakir, an expert on strategic affairs and international relations, considered Greece's threat to military option a reflection of Greek hostile policies recently, through which Athens is trying to draw attention to its growing objections to the Turkish role in the region, especially in the eastern Mediterranean.

Ali Bakir: Little of what Greece has does not allow it to enter into an armed clash with Turkey (Al-Jazeera)

"Instead of Athena heading to negotiation and dialogue, she preferred escalation by weaving alliances and other solidarity with reactionary parties in the Arab world, such as Assad in Syria, Sisi in Egypt, and Haftar in Libya, as she began exploring the possibility of employing mutual hostility," Bakir said in his interview with Al Jazeera Net. Against Turkey with countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia. "

He added that Greece is not the previous empire, and little of it does not allow it to enter into an armed clash with Turkey. Negotiations and dialogue are the only solution available to Athens, but it is possible that the unlimited support of the European Union to it, in addition to the existing alliance with Arab regimes, "reactionary" ", To its slipping into an uncalculated confrontation with Turkey.

The strategic expert stressed that the recent defeats of Assad and Haftar in Syria and Libya, on the decline in oil prices, would cool down slightly from the surge in Athens, but the most important thing is that the European Union take into account the repercussions of one of its countries' alliances with "repressive" Arab regimes, and take the initiative It is pushing toward common ground for dialogue, rather than encouraging Greece to clash and dragging the union with it, perhaps into a losing battle.

Turkish analysts agree that Greece, which suffers from political and economic difficulties and a military slack, does not dare at all to confront Turkey or consider entering a military confrontation with it, indicating that it is always trying to resort to Europe to protect it.