After 200 years, Greek revolution still influences Athens-Ankara ties 

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The Naval Battle of Navarino by Ambroise Louis Garneray (1827). (Commons)
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Updated 29 March 2021
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After 200 years, Greek revolution still influences Athens-Ankara ties 

  • Long shadow of history, with 1821 at its heart, continues to be seen over Greek-Turkish relations
  • Awareness of the centrality of the “other” in historical processes is key to understanding today’s disputes

WASHINGTON: This year is one of great symbolism for Greece. The country is celebrating the 200th anniversary marking the beginning of a nine-year campaign that led to the establishment of the modern Greek state in 1830.

Hundreds of events are planned mainly under the auspices of the Greece 2021 Committee set up for the occasion.

It aims to shed light on different aspects of the nation’s re-birth and the successful campaign to determine its affairs independent of the Ottoman Empire. What was the Greek War of Independence, and how have Greek-Turkish relations been affected by its emergence?

To start with, it is important to stress that the nine-year process that led to the Greek state’s modern formation was not a war of independence as conventionally understood. It is more accurate to depict it as a rebellion, indeed a revolution, since the rebels were far from constituting an organized army.

Moreover, no Greek state existed at the time, capable of fighting a conventional armed conflict against the organized Ottoman army and navy. Lastly, the revolution had multiple starting points because Greeks were dispersed in a large geographic area inside and outside of the Ottoman Empire.

To illustrate this point, the start of the Greek Revolution occurred in February 1821, when Alexandros Ypsilantis published a manifesto for a call to arms in today’s Romania. He argued that the time had come for Greeks, wherever they were, to fight “for Faith and Homeland.”

Ypsilantis was the head of the Friendly Society (Filiki Eteria), an organization set up by members of the Greek diaspora in Odessa in 1814, that became a focal point to aid the revolution through financial, logistical and political support.

The rebellion Ypsilantis envisioned was suppressed pretty quickly, as the revolutionaries were inadequately prepared and thus easily defeated after the czar’s intervention and support of the central government of the Ottomans.

Yet the torch was carried on by rebels further south, in Peloponnesus, as the revolution was eventually crowned with success in 1830 when the full independence of the Greek state was recognized by the then great powers of the UK, France and Russia. In contrast with 1821, Europe’s powers realized that Greek autonomy and its eventual independence served their interests better than open suppression.




Greek War of Independence 1821 - 1829, Turkish general Ibrahim Pasha in front of his tent, wood engraving after drawing by Jeanron, circa 1827. (Alamy)

Further, a great wave of sympathy among Western public opinion towards the revolutionaries became widespread by 1825-1826. It had religious connotations as Christians were fighting Muslims (at least in some theaters of conflict), yet was mostly the result of the successful attempt to link ancient Greece’s image in the eyes of the west with the modern-day struggle of its successors on the ground.

The link was flimsy in ways more than one, but that counted for little. Philhellenism became a powerful force that ultimately allowed the revolutionaries to reach their cherished objective. By 1832, the Ottoman Empire also accepted the inevitable that Greece was now a member of the community of nations.

Its struggle became a rallying cry for other populations in 19th-century Europe. Poles, Hungarians and many others rightly saw in the Greek Revolution the passionate expression of the ideals of the French and American Revolutions and proceeded with the formation of their own states over time.

The Greek Revolution of 1821 is therefore a momentous event in world history, far bigger in consequences than the small state that was formed. For the revolutionaries and the political class of the emerging state, however, their priorities were more immediate: How to make sure Greece would get bigger and bring under its jurisdiction the majority of Greeks still subject to Ottoman rule.

To do so, they needed to fight the Ottomans, not once but many times over until the boundaries of the country were firmly set in 1947 and after the Dodecanese Islands became part of the state. Two decades earlier, the Lausanne Treaty of 1923 ended the war between Greece and Turkey, setting the boundaries of the latter country.

Turkish leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and his comrades-in-arms had earlier rejected the failed Ottoman Empire. Importantly, the nationalist fervor that led to military victory and a new set of diplomatic accords with Greece and other European powers had been originally inspired by the same nationalist zeal that had engulfed their Greek counterparts a century earlier.

Modern observers of Greek-Turkish relations often have difficulty in understanding the intensity of their present-day disputes, unaware of the centrality of the “other” in the historical process that led the two states to come into being.

As I have argued elsewhere, it is precisely their historical state formation, including identity formation and the setup of national consciousness in opposition to the other side (rather than on its own terms) that accounts for the emotional outbursts and limited rationality in sustainable conflict resolution mechanisms characterizing a large part of their conflict-ridden relationship. 

How so?




Museum employees unwrap an artwork depicting Greek revolution heroine, Laskarina Bouboulina in the new museum dedicated to the Philhellene foreign volunteers who fought and died for Greece on March 12, 2021. (AFP/File Photo)

From the 1820s and for an entire century, one side’s victory in the battlefield (or, more often, the diplomatic decision-making circles of the great powers, on which the Greek state was clever enough to rely) was the other side’s loss. Starting from 1830 and until the Treaty of Lausanne was signed, generations of Greeks were determined, if not always battle-ready, to liberate “enslaved Hellenism” from Turkish rule, or Tourkokratia.

In the process, they also managed to incorporate other parts of today’s Greece from countries such as the UK (such as the Ionian Islands in 1863). The next step followed in 1881, when again the great powers convinced the Ottomans to cede Thessaly and a part of Epirus to Greece. By the early 20th century the Ottoman Empire’s decline had accelerated and Greece used that to its advantage.

The Balkans Wars of 1912-13 pitted Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria against the Ottomans, as well as each other, over Macedonia and parts of Epirus. The union of Crete with Greece was also completed at that time.

Greece had managed to enlarge its territory by more than 60 percent and its desire to liberate the “enslaved brethren” appeared close to success by 1921. The crumbling Ottoman Empire, combined with the diligent policies pursued by Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos, allowed Greece to reach its peak by 1921.

Yet 10 years of continuous war had taken its toll and the irredentism manifested in the Greek army’s march deep into central Anatolia came to a crashing halt once Ataturk launched a devastating counterattack. Lausanne put an end to hostilities but not before Greece and Turkey embarked on a population exchange, with religion the main criterion for the exchange.




Greek Prime Minister Constantin Caramanlis (L) and Turkish Prime Minister Suleyman Demirel (R) talk during the first Greek-Turkish summit since the Cyprus war ended at Palais d'Egmont in Brussels, Belgium, on May 31, 1975, to find a solution between the two countries mainly on the Cyprus problem. (AFP/File Photo)

Vestiges of Hellenism remained in the new Turkish Republic, as the patriarchate was allowed to remain in Istanbul, and a sizable Greek minority with it, too. In the years that followed and once the war was over, Greek-Turkish relations have been met with ebbs and flows.

Tensions have been high more often than not, especially over Cyprus, which remains divided to this day and overshadows attempts for a normalization of relations. However, it is also important to stress, given the centuries of coexistence between the two peoples, that their relations have also gone through periods of accord and mutual respect.

Immediately after the war, Ataturk and Venizelos established cordial relations, not least due to their genuine desire for lasting peace and Ataturk’s revolutionary reforms. In 1934, Venizelos even proposed that the Nobel Peace Prize be given to Ataturk.

Friendly relations turned sour after the passing of the two leaders and did not return until the late 1990s with another period of rapprochement. The long shadow of history, with 1821 at its heart, continues to affect Greek-Turkish relations in multiple ways.

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* Dimitris Tsarouhas is a professor of international relations, specializing in Greek politics, Greece-Turkey relations, EU-Turkey relations and EU affairs. Twitter: @dimitsar


European Commission allocates $230 million to support Palestinians

Updated 23 June 2025
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European Commission allocates $230 million to support Palestinians

  • UNRWA to receive €52 million ($58 million) to support its education, healthcare, and relief services for Palestinian refugees
  • Dubravka Suica, commissioner for the Mediterranean, said: ‘Our support to the Palestinian people remains steadfast’

LONDON: The European Commission announced on Monday that it has allocated $230 million to support the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and the Palestinian Authority.

On Monday, the commission announced that it had allocated €150 million ($172 million) to the PA to ensure the delivery of essential public services, including payment of salaries for teachers, civil servants, and healthcare workers. This financial support is contingent upon the implementation of the reform agenda, it added.

UNRWA received €52 million ($58 million) to support its education, healthcare, and relief services for Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip, West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. Since late 2023, UNRWA has been crucial in providing aid and shelter to millions of Palestinians in Gaza amid ongoing Israeli attacks, some of which targeted UN staff and UNRWA facilities.

Dubravka Suica, the commissioner for the Mediterranean, said: “Our support to the Palestinian people remains steadfast.

“With this (first) disbursement of €202 million to the Palestinian Authority and the UN Agency UNRWA, we reaffirm our unwavering political and financial commitment,” she added.

The funds are part of the commission’s Palestine Recovery and Resilience program for 2025-2026, amounting to up to €1.6 billion ($1.84 billion), in which the EU reaffirmed its support for the Palestinian people and its commitment to a two-state solution, as announced in April during the EU-Palestinian Authority high-level political dialogue.

“The EU is deeply concerned about the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and the worsening conditions in the West Bank. We remain firmly committed to a just and lasting peace, grounded in a negotiated two-state solution,” Suica added.


Syria president vows those involved in church attack will face justice

Updated 16 min 57 sec ago
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Syria president vows those involved in church attack will face justice

  • The shooting and suicide bombing Sunday at the church in the working-class Dwelaa district of the Syrian capital killed 25 people and wounded 63

DAMASCUS: Syrian leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa vowed Monday that those involved in a “heinous” suicide attack on a Damascus church would face justice, as he called for unity in the diverse, multi-faith country.

The shooting and suicide bombing Sunday at the church in the working-class Dwelaa district of the Syrian capital killed 25 people and wounded 63, the health ministry said.

The authorities who took power after ousting longtime ruler Bashar Assad in December said the attacker was affiliated with the Daesh group, which has not yet claimed the attack.

“We promise... that we will work night and day, mobilizing all our specialized security agencies, to capture all those who participated in and planned this heinous crime and bring them to justice,” interim President Sharaa said in a statement.

The attack follows incidents of sectarian violence in recent months, with security one of the greatest challenges for the new authorities.

The attack “reminds us of the importance of solidarity, and unity of the government and the people in facing all that threatens our nation’s security and stability,” Sharaa said.

Interior Minister Anas Khattab and intelligence services chief Hussein Al-Salameh held an emergency meeting to discuss the investigations, the ministry said in a statement.

The attack was the first suicide bombing in a church in Syria since the country’s civil war erupted in 2011, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor.

It was also the first attack of its kind in the Syrian capital since Assad’s ouster.

A prayer service at the church is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. (1500 GMT).

Since the new authorities took power, the international community has repeatedly urged them to protect minorities and ensure their participation in Syria’s transition, particularly after the recent violence.

Interior ministry spokesman Noureddine Al-Baba said Sunday that “the security of places of worship is a red line, and all efforts will be made to ensure people’s freedom to perform their religious rites.”Daesh “aims to sow sectarian division and incite all components of Syrian society to take up arms, seeking to show that the Syrian state is unable to protect its communities and citizens,” he told a press conference.

The top cleric of Syria’s Sunni Muslim majority, Grand Mufti Osama Al-Rifai, condemned acts of violence and terrorism in a statement Monday.

“We express our complete rejection of targeting places of worship and terrorizing believers,” he said.

Foreign condemnation of the attack continued to roll in on Monday.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkiye would not allow extremists to drag Syria back into chaos and instability, vowing that Turkiye would “continue to support the Syrian government’s fight against terrorism.”

Turkiye, which is close to the new authorities, has repeatedly offered its operational and military support to fight Daesh and other militant threats.

French President Emmanuel Macron also denounced the “horrible” attack, while the EU said it “stands in solidarity” with Syria in combating ethnic and religious violence.

“It is a grave reminder of the need to intensify efforts against the terrorist threat and to ensure the enduring defeat of Daesh and other terrorist organizations,” spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said.

Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed anger after the attack on the Greek Orthodox Church, calling on the new authorities “to take concrete measures to protect all ethnic and religious minorities.”

Syria’s Christian community has shrunk from around one million before the war to fewer than 300,000 due to waves of displacement and emigration.

Daesh seized large swathes of Syrian and Iraqi territory in the early years of the civil war, declaring a cross-border “caliphate” in 2014.

The militants were territorially defeated in Syria 2019 but have maintained a presence, particularly in the country’s vast desert.


Jordanian king, Omani sultan discuss Iran-Israel conflict, call for peaceful dialogue

Updated 23 June 2025
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Jordanian king, Omani sultan discuss Iran-Israel conflict, call for peaceful dialogue

  • They stressed the need to intensify coordination to extinguish the fires of conflict in Gaza and between Israel and Iran
  • King Abdullah emphasized that peace in the region cannot be achieved without a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue

LONDON: Sultan Haitham bin Tariq of Oman and King Abdullah II of Jordan discussed the Iran-Israel conflict and the serious repercussions of the escalation of tensions in the region.

During a call on Monday, they stressed the need to intensify coordination to extinguish the fires of conflict in the Gaza Strip and the ongoing tensions resulting from Israeli actions against Iran, the Oman News Agency reported.

They also called for peaceful dialogue and negotiation to find political solutions to regional issues that align with international law, ensuring security and stability, the ONA added.

King Abdullah emphasized that peace in the region cannot be achieved without a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue based on a two-state solution, the Petra news agency reported.

The Iran-Israel conflict has escalated following US strikes on three nuclear sites inside Iran on Sunday. Tel Aviv and Tehran have exchanged attacks over the past 11 days, risking a full-scale war in the Middle East.


Israel targets Iran Guards, Tehran prison in fresh wave of strikes

Updated 23 June 2025
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Israel targets Iran Guards, Tehran prison in fresh wave of strikes

  • President Donald Trump hinted Sunday at interest in changing Iran’s system of government
  • Evin prison is often used to hold foreign nationals and Iranians that are seen by rights groups as political prisoners

TEHRAN: Israel hit Revolutionary Guard sites and Evin prison in Tehran on the 11th day of the war Monday, in what it said were its most powerful strikes yet on the Iranian capital.

Iran, in turn, fired missile barrages at Israel and vowed retaliation against the United States after American strikes on the Islamic republic’s nuclear sites a day earlier.

Loud explosions rocked Tehran, where Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the military hit sites with “unprecedented force,” adding to speculation that it is seeking to topple Iran’s clerical leadership.

The targets included Evin prison, which Katz said “holds political prisoners and regime opponents,” as well as command centers for the domestic Basij paramilitary and the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Iranian media and the Israeli military said Israel also struck Fordo, a key nuclear enrichment facility buried deep in the mountains south of Tehran.

The military said it had struck Fordo on Monday “in order to obstruct access routes” to the site, which Israel’s ally the United States hit the previous day with massive bunker buster bombs.

President Donald Trump boasted that Sunday’s US strikes on three key sites had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capabilities, but other officials said it was too soon to assess the impact on Iran’s atomic program, which Israel and some Western states consider an unacceptable threat.

Sirens sounded across Israel on Monday and AFP journalists reported blasts over Jerusalem and people fleeing to shelters in Tel Aviv.

Iranian media said Israel’s strikes hit a power supply system in Tehran, triggering temporary outages.

In Israel, the national electricity company reported “damage near a strategic infrastructure facility” in the south that disrupted the power supply, without naming the location or specifying the cause.

Israel’s military censorship rules bar the publication of some details about damage in Israel.

Israeli strikes on Iran have killed more than 400 people, Iran’s health ministry has said. Iran’s attacks on Israel have killed 24 people, according to official figures.

After the US strikes, global markets reacted nervously, with oil prices jumping more than four percent early Monday but dipping later in the day.

China urged both Iran and Israel to prevent the conflict from spilling over, warning of potential economic fallout.

Iranian armed forces chief Abdolrahim Mousavi said in a video statement published on state TV that Washington’s bombing “will not go unanswered.”

“We will take firm action against the American mistake,” he added.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on China to help deter Iran from closing the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said closing the strategic strait would be “extremely dangerous.”

With Iran threatening US bases in the region, the State Department issued a worldwide alert cautioning Americans abroad.

In Bahrain, home to a major US naval base, the US embassy said it had “temporarily shifted a portion of its employees to local telework,” citing “heightened regional tensions.”

Meanwhile, international oil firms including BP and Total evacuated some of their foreign staff from southern Iraq, the state-owned Basra Oil Company said.

After the Pentagon stressed the goal of US intervention was not to topple the Iranian government, Trump openly toyed with the idea.

“If the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change???” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

His press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday that Trump was “still interested and engaging in” diplomacy.

She suggested, however, that Iranians could overthrow their government if it did not agree to a diplomatic solution.

At a Pentagon press briefing, top US general Dan Caine said “initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage.”

Speaking ahead of a NATO summit this week, the alliance’s chief Mark Rutte said Tehran should not be allowed a nuclear weapon, calling it his “greatest fear,” while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said “there is no reason to criticize what America did.”

Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that craters were visible at the Fordo facility, but it had not been possible to assess the underground damage.

“Armed attacks on nuclear facilities should never take place,” he added.

Iran has consistently denied seeking an atomic bomb, and Grossi has said there was no evidence to suggest it was doing so despite the Islamic republic being the only non-nuclear armed state to enrich uranium to 60 percent.

The IAEA said on Monday that Tehran had informed it of “special measures to protect nuclear material” when the Israeli campaign began.

The UN agency also said it was seeking access to Iranian nuclear sites to “account for” stockpiles of highly enriched uranium.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, had accused the United States and Israel of deciding to “blow up” nuclear diplomacy with their attacks.


Erdogan says won’t let terror ‘drag Syria back to instability’

Updated 23 June 2025
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Erdogan says won’t let terror ‘drag Syria back to instability’

ISTANBUL: Turkiye will not allow extremists to drag Syria back into chaos and instability, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday after a suicide attack killed 22 at a Damascus church.
“We will never allow our neighbor and brother Syria... be dragged into a new environment of instability through proxy terrorist organizations,” he said, vowing to support the new government’s fight against such groups.