Greek-Turkish relations will be redefined if elected Ekrem Imamoglou president of the Turkish Republic in 2028, since after his re-election in Istanbul in last Sunday’s municipal elections, which caused a political “earthquake”, all the roads to the presidency were wide open? And if so, has it given any indication of the direction it will take?
However, in the municipal elections of 2019, after his annulled victory in the first round, a government “editing” began on the occasion of an interview that the CHP candidate gave to the Greek press, falsely reporting that the journalist who met him in Istanbul revealed that the emerging ” star” of the Turkish opposition “is Greek from Pontus”. The mayor flatly denied it.
“First of all, Imamoglu has never spoken publicly about the scenario of his election as president. And he has never made a speech, as far as I can tell, about Greece.” says the Turkish reporter to “Vima”. Erkin Onjan from Instabul. He attributes this to the fact that the pro-government media repeatedly accuse him of being “phil-Hellenic” and “pro-Byzantine”. “Furthermore, the government media accuses him of denouncing Turkey in Greece. It is no coincidence that his statements during his visits to Athens have been deleted from the website of the metropolitan municipality” adds the reporter.
It refers to the warm announcements of the mayor of the City in September 2021, during his visit to Athens at the invitation of the mayor of Athens Kostas Bakoyannis. “The Turkish-Greek friendship began between Atatürk and Venizelos and continued further with the contribution of names such as Mikis Theodorakis and Zulfou Livaneli, artists-symbols of the two countries” Imamoglu stated at the time, adding: “As long as there is good will and common sense, Turkey and Greece act on the principle that there is no issue that cannot be resolved.”
“It is too early to comment on what Imamoglu will do if he is elected president in 2028. However, I believe that if he wins, he will follow an EU-oriented foreign policy, due to the internal problems such as the economic crisis, etc. For this reason, he will aim to build stronger relations with Greece. Like Turgut Özal’s Motherland Party government, Bulent Ecevit’s Coalition (DSP-ANAP-MHP) and the AKP government (2002-2007) sought good relations with Greece to build a strong partnership with EU, so Imamoglu as president will follow a similar strategy towards Greecesays in “Vima” o Tarik BasbouogluProfessor of Political Science at the University of Glasgow.
“No matter how hard you search, you will not be able to find anything that reveals Imamoglu’s political orientation regarding Greece. I’m sure he hasn’t even thought about it yet.” the Turkish academic and analyst of the independent Turkish newspaper “Birgün” points out in “Vima” Doan Tillich. “He can continue the same policy as the CHP, which while he was in government there were frictions over Cyprus, the Aegean islands, territorial waters and airspace”.
Turkey’s foreign policy, adds the Turkish analyst, “is not modified. Only in exceptions, as in the case of Ismail Tzem and Giorgos Papandreou. Also in disasters, such as the earthquake, the political climate changes and the rhetoric on both sides is less harsh, but neither Ankara nor Athens move from their fixed positions”.
“Imamoglu’s party does not have a traditional approach to Greece and the dynamics of Greek-Turkish relations are extremely complex” the former US Deputy Secretary of State comments on “Vima”. Matthew Bryza. “If Imamoglu is elected president, I hope that the CHP will be modernized, that relations with the US and Greece will improve, and that the road to Europe for Turkey passes through Athens”.
Meanwhile, in a recent interview with the Turkish “Sözcü”, the president of the CHP Ozgur Ozel made clear the party’s aim to be oriented towards the outside world, including the West (Europe and the US), beyond Russia and China.
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