Leverage by proxy

A news story by Turkey's Anadolu news agency about Turkish officials stating that Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will raise the whole range of Greek-Turkish disputes in the Aegean during his meeting with Greek counterpart George Gerapetritis in Athens on November 8 has caused a stir.

It could not have been otherwise. Talks on the "positive agenda" could not have gone on indefinitely. The time has come to start the discussion on the core issues affecting bilateral relations. And if Greece has drawn its "red lines," refusing to negotiate anything except the delimitation of the continental shelf and the exclusive economic zone, Turkey also has its own "red lines," which have been formed over decades. Because if it didn't, it would be inconsistent with what it has been publicly claiming for years.

The question that arises, therefore, is the degree of intensity of the talks...