Rubio in Athens: Turkish press reacts to the $4 billion FMS and Stryker announcement, Yeni Şafak writes “Greece surrendered to the US”

Part of the Turkish press greeted the outcome of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to Athens and of the sixth Greece–US Strategic Dialogue with sharp headlines. The pro-government newspaper Yeni Şafak wrote on the evening of Wednesday, October 7, that “Greece this time surrendered itself to the US”, commenting on the $4 billion in defence sales through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme and the provision of Stryker vehicles announced by Athens and Washington. Turkish commentators have already begun to react very strongly against the US on social media.

The State Department’s joint statement announced FMS sales in support of Greece’s long-term defence plan, finalised the country’s participation in the State Partnership Program with Florida and announced stronger interoperability through Stryker vehicles (see our report). Rubio described Greece as “an indispensable NATO partner” and a pillar of the US presence in the Eastern Mediterranean, remarks that the Turkish press reported in detail.

The Turkish reading: “support for Greece amid tension with Turkey”

The television network Halk TV presented the visit as “support for Greece while tension with Turkey continues”. It focused on Giorgos Gerapetritis’s statement that Greece is an “anchor of stability” in the Eastern Mediterranean and that respect for international law must be a guiding principle. It also noted the Greek minister’s references to the US presence at Souda and Alexandroupolis and to the acquisition of the F-35 as evidence of the strategic defence relationship.

Before the Dialogue, Hürriyet wrote that the Greek government is “trying to block” Turkey’s procurement of US F-35s. The newspaper presented the armament of Greece’s 20 F-35s as the main subject of the talks, citing AIM-9X Block II, AIM-120D and JASSM-ER missiles, as well as Greek interest in the Stryker.

Ankara left off the tour

Rubio’s tour took him to Iceland, Greece and Portugal, with no stop in Ankara. The newspaper Türkiye had already commented on this on October 5, writing that Athens was preparing to turn the visit into a “diplomatic opportunity against Turkey”. At the same time it claimed that Athens’s “plan” to pressure Ankara had “hit a wall”, citing Greek press reports on Turkey’s defence agreements with major European countries and on the Turkish position on the Great Sea Interconnector cable.

The Turkish reports present the Turkish side’s view, not an official position of Ankara. The next point of reference is the first official reaction from the Turkish Foreign or Defence Ministry.