US ambassador to Türkiye says ‘no shift in US security posture in Aegean’

By Handan Kazanci

ISTANBUL (AA) – The US ambassador to Türkiye said Tuesday that there was no “shift in the US security posture in the Aegean” amid Greece’s deployment of armored vehicles on islands that are supposed to be demilitarized under longstanding treaties.

“I have been asked recently if there has been a shift in the US security posture in the Aegean. The answer is no,” Jeffry Flake said on Twitter.

“Our security cooperation with our NATO allies Türkiye and Greece does not come from a position of partiality or imbalance towards any single partner,” Flake added. “Our collective efforts are now focused on putting an end to Russia’s brutal and unprovoked war in Ukraine.”

Flake’s comments came after Turkish army drones last month recorded Greece’s deployment of armored vehicles on demilitarized Aegean islands, in violation of international law. Video footage showed landing ships carried military vehicles given by the US to the islands of Midilli (Lesbos) and Sisam (Samos).

Pointing to the island deployment and new US bases in Greece, Turkish leaders have suggested there has been a shift in the traditionally balanced US relationship with Türkiye and Greece to one instead closer to Athens.

Washington also recently decided to lift the decades-old arms embargo on the Greek Cypriot administration.

On Twitter, Flake also hailed Türkiye’s “valuable support, notably advancing food security and fostering dialogue between Ukraine and Russia.”

“Our defense cooperation with Greece strengthens NATO’s eastern flank in support of Ukraine and of our NATO Allies in Central and Eastern Europe,” he added. “Our overriding objective, shared with our NATO Allies Türkiye and Greece, is peace, security and stability throughout the region.”

Türkiye has been in close contact with both Russia and Ukraine since the beginning of the war. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly stressed his wish to bring Russian President Vladmir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy together at a negotiating table in Türkiye to end the war.