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"Destined Glory" destined for Trouble |
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Unexpected skirmish strains relations
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Advice for A Greece Travel Novice - "I am visiting Greece by myself for the first time - any advice?"
Fishcool
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Greece has withdrawn its participation in the NATO-organized and endorsed joint military action called "Destined Glory" after Turkish jets have engaged Greek pilots in "mock" dogfights which are not part of the exercise. Greece has also asked NATO to terminate the exercise early, citing Turkish aggression and non-cooperation.
Turkey apparently belatedly decided that it did not want Greek fighter planes flying over Limnos, a Greek island close to the Turkish coast. The result is a startling refusal by a NATO country to allow another NATO country to participate as planned in a previously-arranged NATO military exercise - hardly a great model of the alliance in action.
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Turkey's actions are based on the Greek planes flying over Greek territory during a previously-approved joint military exercise. But the real cause lies elsewhere.
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The Issue is Cyprus, not Limnos
But the real problem is "Nikiforos 2000", a separate military exercise of the Cyprus National Guard on the divided and disputed island nation of Cyprus. Since the Turkish invasion of a portion of the island almost thirty years ago, tensions have been high and "The Cyprus Problem" kept Turkey out of consideration for joining the European Union until Greece, in a magnaminous gesture which authorities may be regretting, withdrew its objection. This latest incident will not improve the chances of Turkey's petition. In light of the recent, astoundingly poor financial performance of the Euro, EU participation is not as desirable to Turkey as it once seemed.
How Will This Affect Travel?
Impact on travel from this incident is expected to be minor, as overall, Turkish and Greek relations have improved substantially in the past year. However, allow extra time for any access into Turkey from Greek islands such as Samos, and some short boat trips from other Dodecanese islands to Turkey may be restricted or simply held to the highest and most detailed bureaucratic standards - expect delays long enough to let you rethink whether or not you really want to go into Turkey from a Greek gateway.
Greek Cruise ship tours of Turkish sights such as Kusadasi/Ephesus and Istanbul should be unaffected.
Photos by deTraci Regula, courtesy ACFP. All rights reserved. Copyright 1996-2001.
