A new event is happening in those latitudes: a new regional order is being shaped under the heading “gas” in a region that has always been troubled. More generally, Athens and the Gulf countries, under the pressure of the US, have strengthened the geopolitical partnership.
Cooperation is not just commercial. They brought it into sharp focus Atene e Riyad, who have decided to intensify the partnership in a number of areas, such as security, defense and geopolitics. More generally, Athens and the Gulf countries, under the pressure of the US, have strengthened the geopolitical bolt that welds governments and economies. Net of some concerns among other regional players, the new awareness that the two governments have matured is bearing fruit, as two examples above all show plastically.
ALLIANCES
An intense phase of collaboration between Saudi and Greek intelligence is at the basis of the anti-drug operations against Hezbollah. The assistance provided to the Greek authorities by the anti-drug agency ofSaudi Arabia (GNDC / SA), which led to the discovery of a huge cargo of cannabis in the port of Piraeus, marks a new phase in relations between the two countries, which has already begun under the heading of defense. Two months ago, six F-15s from the Royal Saudi Air Force took part in the exercise in Crete Falcon Eye 1 in the Mediterranean. Aegean and gulf are building a fine network of influences and relationships. This is demonstrated by the move made by the Greek foreign and defense ministers, Dendias and Panagiotopoulos: on the occasion of the last visit to Riyadh they announced the deployment of the air defense missile system Patriot-2 in order to support Saudi Arabia’s energy infrastructure, following repeated attacks by ballistic missiles and drones.
WHAT IS THERE AFTER ATHEN-RIYAD?
What does the collaboration between the two services and the staffs carry in the womb? A tripartite summit is also being worked on, involving Cyprus, thus enriching the web of Middle Eastern relations, with the favor of Washington, which now sees Greece as an avant-garde pole, not only military but also on the “shore”. A new event is happening in those latitudes: a new regional order is being shaped under the heading “gas” in a region that has always been troubled.
To this we must add a technical element: according to a paper on the table of the major oil groups, Europe will need another 100 billion cubic meters of gas by 2030 and the resulting diplomatic and commercial conflict will be fierce. The strip of sea between the Aegean and the waters that bathe Israel, therefore, it will be central for a thousand reasons and will be managed and defended also thanks to new relationships that are intertwining in the energy dossier.
SCENARIOS
The Ellinosaudite tandem can only cause concern in Ankara (which in the meantime has converted the training system Simsek in a kamikaze drone), very attentive to the moods in the Gulf for a series of reasons including financial as well as strictly geopolitical. In Turkey in fact the rate of inflation rose to 17.1% in April, while the pace of producer price increases accelerated to 35.2%: this is the highest level since the currency crisis in 2018. A clear effect of the collapse of the lira, with the consequent increase in the cost of imports. The currency has lost nearly a third of its value since the beginning of last year. A situation that impacts on families and businesses: moreover, most Turkish companies are struggling to survive the lockdown expected until May 17, but for five Turkish businessmen close to Erdogan there will be no difficulties since they have been granted important infrastructure projects with guaranteed income from the Turkish Treasury.
It is in this framework that the financial relations between the Bosphorus and the Gulf fit in: it should not be forgotten that recently in Doha, the Russian foreign minister Lavrov created the so-called troika composed of Russia-Turkey-Qatar, cemented on the Syria dossier, as an initiative to complete the Astana process. Turkey and the Qatar they could jointly promote a resolution of the Idlib issue, with Qatar “close” to Erdogan’s financial needs as well.
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