Transcript [00:30] Hey everybody, if you really want to [00:32] understand what is going on in the [00:34] Middle East, what to look for in the [00:36] coming weeks and months ahead, pay close [00:39] attention to the remarks made here by [00:41] Nikos Dendias. He is the defense [00:44] minister of Greece and this is from a [00:46] joint press conference that he gave [00:47] together with the Israeli defense [00:50] minister Issrael Katz just a few days [00:52] ago and then we will talk about it and I [00:55] will explain why this is so critical to [00:59] understanding the Middle East. Have a [01:01] look at this. [01:06] Israel. [01:17] for [01:28] Israel. [01:38] Foreign [01:45] speech. Foreign speech. Foreign speech. [02:21] Israel. [02:43] Platform Cyber [02:55] for [03:24] Kento. [03:39] anti- drone [03:45] drones. [03:53] Foreign [04:14] speech. Foreign speech. Foreign speech. [04:18] Youisotropy. [04:52] This [05:16] Israelis. [05:25] President Trump. [05:58] All right. So let's uh understand what [06:01] we just saw there. This is again I [06:03] cannot tell you how important this is. [06:07] You see the let me start with some [06:10] background to help understand you know [06:13] why this is so critical. So, let me [06:16] explain something. It just doesn't get [06:17] enough attention. Once you see it, a lot [06:19] of things about Israel's alliances will [06:23] suddenly make a lot of sense. We hear a [06:25] lot about tensions in the Middle East, [06:28] but there is a pressure point in the [06:30] Middle East that is a major pressure [06:32] point that you don't hear so much about [06:34] because Israel grabs all the headlines, [06:36] which is the tension between Greece and [06:38] Turkey. And this matters not just for [06:40] Greece and Turkey, but for Israel and [06:43] for the entire Eastern Mediterranean. [06:47] So what's the problem between Greece and [06:49] Turkey? Right? So on paper, Greece and [06:52] Turkey are both NATO members. In [06:54] reality, they've been rivals for [06:56] decades. The core issue is territory and [07:00] control, especially over the Aian Sea [07:02] and parts of the Eastern Mediterranean. [07:04] So here's the simplest way to understand [07:05] this because Greece and Turkey are right [07:07] next to each other. Greece says we have [07:09] islands, we have borders, we have rights [07:11] under under international law and Turkey [07:14] basically says those rules don't apply [07:16] the way you think they do and we are [07:19] going to enforce our will in in the [07:21] region. And one of the biggest flash [07:22] points is the water the water areas the [07:25] territorial waters. So under [07:27] international law Greece has the right [07:29] to extend its territorial waters to 12 [07:32] nautical miles. Now, Turkey has openly [07:34] declared that if Greece actually does [07:37] that, it would be considered what's [07:39] called what's called causes belli or [07:41] cause for war. Now, let that sink in. [07:43] This is a NATO country, Turkey, [07:45] threatening war against another NATO [07:48] country, for exercising what is actually [07:50] a legal right by international law. This [07:53] is not theoretical. Turkish jets [07:55] regularly fly into contested airspace [07:58] between Greece and Turkey. Greek [08:00] officials openly talk about expecting [08:02] renewed friction in 2026. And even when [08:06] tensions cool down, nobody in Athens, no [08:08] one in Greece believes that this dispute [08:11] has gone away. Now they are talking to [08:13] each other and that's important. They've [08:16] resumed political dialogue. Meetings are [08:18] happening. There's more meetings [08:19] planned. Greece, of course, wants things [08:22] to be calm. But here's the key point. [08:24] They're not resolving the conflict so [08:26] far. Greek officials are very clear. [08:28] They'll talk, but only on the basis of [08:31] international law. They're not going to [08:32] negotiate under threats from Turkey. And [08:36] Erdogan and Turkey has a very different [08:38] worldview. I've talked about this many [08:40] times. If you follow my videos on the [08:42] Israel 365 channel, you'll see a lot [08:44] where I talk about Turkey and the way [08:45] they're trying to throw their weight [08:47] around in the Middle East. But here's [08:48] where things get bigger. Turkey isn't [08:50] only pressing Greece. Turkeykey's [08:52] expanding its influence all across the [08:54] Middle East. They have embedded [08:56] themselves in Libya where they first got [08:57] involved in the Libyan civil war and [08:59] they've stayed there. They've embedded [09:01] themselves in Syria. In fact, the Al [09:03] Gulani, the current uh thug uh former [09:06] terrorist who's taken over Syria is a [09:08] Turkish proxy. They're they're embedded [09:11] in Somalia and in the Eastern [09:12] Mediterranean [09:14] where they are and now they are trying [09:16] to get more involved in Gaza. So, here's [09:19] where it gets bigger. Turkey isn't only [09:21] pressuring Greece, it's also expanding [09:23] its influence across the region. It's [09:25] embedded in Libya. It's embedded in [09:26] Syria, in Somalia, in the Eastern [09:28] Mediterranean. And now, and now [09:30] Turkeykey's trying to get involved in [09:31] Gaza. I've talked a lot about this on [09:33] the Israel 365 YouTube channel. If you [09:35] go there, you can see everything. Um, [09:37] you can see a lot of videos there where [09:39] I talk about how Turkey is trying to [09:40] expand its influence all across the [09:42] region. Now, from Greece's perspective, [09:45] this is a pattern that they see. They [09:47] see what Turkeykey's doing and they [09:48] don't want it threatening them. [09:50] Turkeykey's pushing itself outward, [09:52] asserting itself militarily, right? [09:54] That's what's happening there. Now, once [09:56] Turkey establishes itself, if it manages [09:59] to establishes itself as a regional [10:02] superpower, as it's trying to do, [10:04] controlling the sea and influencing [10:06] conflicts, Greece will be directly [10:08] affected by that. And so will Egypt, uh, [10:11] who is more quiet about their [10:13] opposition, and so is Israel, who's more [10:15] open about it. Now, let's get to the [10:16] heart of it. Greece sees Turkey as a [10:20] neighbor that challenges it, that [10:22] ignores international law. They [10:25] illegally occupy [10:27] more than a third of Cyprus, which is [10:29] also a close Greek and Israeli ally, as [10:32] you saw from that clip. [10:34] [laughter] So, they see Turkey as a [10:36] threat, and that's the threat that he [10:38] was talking about in that clip. And so [10:41] Turkeykey's and and Turkey's [10:42] relationship with Israel has [10:43] deteriorated very badly. Turkey openly [10:46] supports uh Hamas and other actors [10:50] hostile to Israel and Israel is trying [10:53] to prevent Turkey from getting a [10:54] foothold in Gaza or consolidating its [10:57] power in Syria. Okay. So [11:03] this is a strategic issue. This Greece [11:05] Israel alliance is a very important [11:08] strategic alliance. [11:11] to stand up against Turkey, who is [11:13] trying to replace Iran as the big [11:16] Islamic power in the Middle East. If you [11:18] go back before October 7th, it's Iran [11:20] withah and Hamas and controlling Syria [11:24] and really dominating the region. [11:26] They're now crippled and weak. There's [11:28] still a problem, but the main problem [11:30] that's emerging is the Turkish influence [11:34] backed by Qatari money. [11:37] So [clears throat] it this is a [11:39] strategic issue for Greece and Israel. [11:41] Greece and Israel now are running joint [11:43] military exercises as you saw there. [11:45] They're coordinating on air and naval [11:47] security. They're sharing intelligence [11:49] and defense planning and they're working [11:51] very closely with Cyprus as this like [11:54] trilateral block now. And that was what [11:56] the 3+ one he was talking about is where [11:59] they're now working Greece, Cypress, [12:00] Israel are now working as a unit of [12:04] influence in the eastern Mediterranean [12:08] together as jointly as an ally of the [12:11] United States to protect their [12:13] interests. So this comp this creates a [12:16] very important balance here, right? They [12:18] don't want this tripartite alliance. [12:20] They don't want escalation. They don't [12:22] want they don't want war, but they're [12:24] also sending a very clear message to [12:26] Turkey. You don't get to dominate this [12:29] region. Okay? [12:31] And uh you know, so that's that's the [12:33] importance of the 3+ one. Now, here's [12:35] the big picture takeaway from all this. [12:37] When you hear when you hear about if you [12:39] do hear about in the news, if you follow [12:41] this, you hear about tensions between [12:43] Greece and Turkey, don't think that it's [12:46] just a local squabble between two, you [12:48] know, European countries or two second [12:50] rate nations. This is a much larger [12:53] story about Turkey trying to assert its [12:56] power all across the region and about [12:59] sovereignty and borders [13:01] in this in in the Middle East. So the [13:05] Greece Israel alliance is very very [13:08] critical. Uh it's very important to how [13:11] things are going to shape up moving [13:13] forward in the Middle East. So pay close [13:16] attention to that. I'm going to be [13:17] bringing you more updates on this issue. [13:19] And if you enjoy these videos, you if [13:22] you find them useful, please like and [13:23] share and subscribe and do all that [13:25] stuff. But also go check out all the [13:27] content that I that that is being put up [13:30] on the Israel 365 YouTube channel where [13:32] I give much deeper explainer videos over [13:35] there. So, so thanks for watching.
