Erdogan's party calls for a "Greater Turkey"

Metin Külünk, a deputy of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), called for the creation of a "Greater Turkey" that would include Northern Greece and the Eastern Aegean islands, as well as Cyprus and areas of Armenia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Syria and Iraq. 

Metin Külünk is a person very close to President Erdogan, and comes from the same province as the parents of the Ottoman leader. The AKP deputy requested from the social network Twitter a "Greater Turkey" that incorporates large areas of Northern Greece and the Eastern Aegean islands, half of Bulgaria, Cyprus and Armenia in its entirety, as well as large areas of Georgia, Iraq and Syria. In a series of tweets, Külünk praised Seljuk's victory over the Byzantine Empire in Manzikert in 1071, which allowed the Turkish-Asians to enter Anatolia for the first time in history. "Turkey has entered the 21st century with great movements in the spirit of 1071, it is progressing, taking great steps. Today, the reason the Western world is coming back to us is the awakening of a nation that fell asleep after 1938 on July 15 and opened up to Syria, the Mediterranean and Africa with its spirit of 1071," Külünk said on Twitter.

With the "spirit of 1071", Külünk could have effectively admitted that Turkey aims to dominate Syria, the Mediterranean and Africa militarily. The AKP politician also stressed that "the grandchildren of those who think that they will take us out of Anatolia are trying to take us out of the Mediterranean today". "Don't have any doubt that they will be defeated in the Mediterranean. The spirit of Manzikert's victory is alive. The Turkish government and the need to satisfy the spirit of the nation in all fields," he said on Twitter. The tweet was accompanied with a map of an extended Turkey showing the north of Greece and the islands of the east of the Aegean occupied by the Turkish flag. 

Despite this shocking expansionist claim of this Erdogan ideologist, who belongs to the same political party and is a member of parliament, Donald Trump, the president of the USA and Germany continue with their attitude of not being totally opposed to the Eurasian country. Meanwhile, they are appeasing Ankara despite its belligerent stance against Greece, a country with which it is in a major conflict over the dispute over exclusive economic zones in the Mediterranean. Erdogan's Turkey's aim is to position itself strongly in the eastern Mediterranean arc and take over rich gas and oil resources in the area. 

Erdogan was again praised by Donald Trump, this time in an event with an American pastor who was illegally imprisoned and taken hostage in Turkey for more than two years. "I have to say that for me, President Erdogan was very good", Trump told Pastor Andrew Brunson, who was facing decades in a Turkish prison by order of the Ottoman top leader. 

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had a telephone conversation with the US president on Wednesday evening, where Trump only asked for the escalation to be reduced as if Greece was partly or equally responsible for the aggressive actions of Turkey.

The Turkish foreign minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoglu, threatened the Greek country with the use of force and pointed out that Turkey's response will not be accidental but a direct action without any doubt. The Ottoman diplomat said that Greece should abandon what he called "maximalist demands" in reference to the clash over certain areas of the Mediterranean. These were words spoken at a joint press conference he gave in Ankara with Heiko Maas, the German foreign minister, who tried to ease tension between Greeks and Turks by calling for dialogue despite the threats from the Eurasian nation. 

"Whatever is necessary, we do it without hesitation. Therefore, do not get agitated, encourage these countries and act with common sense", said the Turkish foreign minister in his speech together with the German diplomat. 

Germany has been an ally of the Turks for a long time, in fact there is an important population of Turkish origin on German territory, and for this reason it does not seem to be ready to impose sanctions on Turkey despite its constant threats against Greece, a member of the EU, and its violations of the air and sea space of the Greek country.