Illustrative image. (Israeli Defense Forces)
Israel, Greece, and Cyprus are working on a fast response force with 2,500 troops to counter Turkish influence, Greek newspaper TA NEA reported on December 17.
According to the report, which cites top defense officials, Greece is considering implementing Israeli measures and offering a coordinated response mechanism to protect against potential threats from “enemy states”.
The report explains that Israel, Greece, and Cyprus will have access to this force, which will have dedicated air and sea capabilities.
“A Greek-Israeli rapid reaction force is not an alliance against anyone. It fills a strategic void. From Rhodes to Cyprus and Israel, platforms, pipelines, and electricity cables are exposed,” one of the officials told the newspaper.
They also stressed that the force will not only be important for Greece but for Europe as a whole, as a key asset for delivering natural gas, oil, and electricity to the continent.
This force would include 1,000 troops from Greece, 1,000 from Israel, and 500 others from Cyprus. The Israeli and Greek air forces would also participate, each providing one squadron, according to TA NEA.
The fall of the regime of former President Bashar al-Assad in Syria tipped the balance of power in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea in favor of Turkey, whose allies now rule most of the country including its coast. An alliance between Israel, Greece and Cyprus began to merge in response.
In September, tensions with Turkey flared up over the delivery of Israeli-made Barak MX long-range air defense systems to Cyprus.
Turkish defense officials warned at the time that Southern Cyprus’s ongoing armament efforts would threaten peace and stability on the island and may lead to “dangerous consequences.”
The warning was, however, ignored. On December 17, Greek media reported that the country was earring a deal with Israel on the PULS rocket artillery system, which can launch ballistic and cruise missiles. Other reports from December 18, revealed that the country was deploying Israeli-made SPIKE NLOS long-range anti-tank missile systems in the Eastern Aegean islands and the Evros border region.
Illustrative image. (X/@Ioannis_Nikitas)
The emerging alliance between Israel, Greece and Cyprus could expand with time, especially if Turkey manages to keep its grip on Syria and its coast.
A report published by the Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar on December 13 revealed growing European interest in the Eastern Mediterranean, not just to deter Turkey but also to confront Russia.
The report, which cities European security officials, said that European countries are working on an initiative to “deploy troops, experts, and police in several countries, including Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria, with the aim of assisting local forces in better governance and ensuring a direct European military presence in areas vital to European security.” Forces from Germany, Italy, and France are likely to be at the forefront of these missions, according to the report.
While Europe, especially France, could succeed in Lebanon and even in the Gaza Strip, the situation in Syria is completely different.
Turkey’s allies in Damascus will not likely agree to any European missions. Thus, Europe could end up joining the force being formed by Israel, Greece and Cyprus.
The position of Russia – which maintains a naval facility and an air base on the Syrian coast without an agreement with the country’s new rulers – remains unclear, but it is certain that the main struggle in the Eastern Mediterranean will be mainly between Israel, Greece and Cyprus on one side and Turkey alone on the other.
A proxy war on the Syrian coast can’t be ruled out in the long term. The Alawite community, which makes up the majority of the coastal population, is opposed to the country’s new rulers, and following a wave of massacres by government forces in March that claimed the lives of more than 1,400 civilians, they begin to demand self-governance.
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who to root for? lol
a turquia arme o hezbollah, pronto, dissuação completa.