MP Syrigos: Expect weak EU sanctions against Turkey, cooperation with UAE is a great success

Angelos Syrigos, an MP for the ruling New Democracy Party and a professor of political science at Panteion University predicts only weak sanctions against Turkey at the next European Council on December 10-11.

Speaking on Topic 104.6, the New Democracy MP noted that within the European Union there are two trends in terms of Euro-Turkish relations.

The first trend includes Greece, France, Cyprus, Austria, Luxembourg, Ireland and the Czech Republic - countries that want tougher sanctions on Turkey.

The second trend includes countries such as Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland and Germany that choose no sanctions against Ankara.

At the same time, Syrigos stressed that several countries, especially Germany, maintain close economic relations with Ankara and estimated that Brussels will maintain a wait-and-see attitude in order to see how the new US administration will handle issues concerning Turkey.

Finally, Syrigos stressed the importance of the agreement between Greece and the United Arab Emirates, emphasizing that this is a great diplomatic success of the Greek government, the importance of which may not have been widely understood.

"One of the greatest successes since '74 is this cooperation between a Western country and a non-NATO one," Syrigos concluded.

The mutual defense clause between Greece and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in case either country is threatened, is perhaps the most important result of the visit of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to Abu Dhabi earlier this month.

According to well-informed sources, the two sides are committed to contributing to the defense and maintaining the security, sovereignty, unity, protection and territorial independence of Greece and the UAE, as far as possible and where practically possible.

This is the first time that Greece has signed such an agreement with a non-NATO country, signifying major changes in Greek foreign policy.