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Turkish media describe a broad and expensive Greek armament program: F-35s, Rafale fighters, Belharra frigates, and the Israeli air-defense system known as the Achilles Shield.<\/p>\n
In the talks with Rubio, arms packages worth about \u20ac1 billion are said to be on the table. Greek defense commitments to the United States already exceed \u20ac6 billion, and could pass \u20ac9 billion if Athens exercises an option for 20 additional F-35s.<\/p>\n
France is treated as equally central. Greek deals for four Belharra frigates and 24 Rafales are put at more than \u20ac7 billion. Cooperation with Israel is described as accelerating: the Achilles Shield program, valued at \u20ac5.7 billion, is expected to be fully operational within 36 months.<\/p>\n
Yeni \u015eafak and the power cable<\/strong><\/p>\n The pro-government daily Yeni \u015eafak<\/em> says Greek-Turkish relations face a fresh test over a proposed undersea electricity cable linking Greece, Cyprus, and Israel.<\/p>\n The paper argues the route would cross the Turkish continental shelf created by the Turkey-Libya maritime deal, so the parties would need Ankara\u2019s permission \u2014 or, in softer language, coordination with Turkey. Athens does not want to ask, the paper says, because a request could be read as acceptance of that deal.<\/p>\n Reviving the project, Yeni \u015eafak<\/em> adds, leaves the Greek government in a difficult spot ahead of elections. It can push ahead and risk a clash with Turkey, possibly forcing a retreat; it can proceed on terms Turkey can accept; or it can seek a middle formula that amounts to indirect Turkish approval.<\/p>\n In every scenario, the paper concludes, the government is likely to face domestic political trouble.<\/p>\n Ayd\u0131nl\u0131k: fighters, bases, and the Vertical Corridor<\/strong><\/p>\n The hard-nationalist paper Ayd\u0131nl\u0131k<\/em> casts the Rubio visit as part of a wider design that ties arms purchases, military bases, and energy projects into a US-Greek approach aimed at Turkey. F-35s, the Vertical Energy Corridor, and US weapons meant to strengthen Greece are presented as one idea.<\/p>\n The paper singles out tension over the Greece-Cyprus electricity cable in the Aegean. The Vertical Corridor, which would move American LNG from Alexandroupolis toward the Balkans and Central Europe, could, it argues, cut into Turkey\u2019s energy weight in the region.<\/p>\n Ayd\u0131nl\u0131k<\/em> also notes the presence of US economic officials in Rubio\u2019s delegation and treats that as a shift from diplomacy to financing. On F-35s and bases, and on LNG and energy routes, the paper says Washington and Athens are now working closely \u2014 and against Turkey.<\/p>\n What Turkish analysts are saying<\/strong><\/p>\n Analysts such as Professor Sezgin Erkan argue that Greece is not stopping at defense.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we are seeing is essentially an attempt to build multi-layered defensive and offensive power,\u201d he said, adding that the F-35\u2019s low observability could make it the spearhead.<\/p>\n CNN T\u00fcrk, covering the visit, put the bill Athens is being asked to pay the United States for arms programs at more than \u20ac6 billion, with the F-35 as the largest item: 20 jets, with deliveries expected to begin in 2029. Athens also holds an option for 20 more. It has not activated that option because of cost; if it does, the total paid to the United States would exceed \u20ac9 billion.<\/p>\n France is described as the second major supplier, with programs above \u20ac7 billion built around the four Belharra frigates and 24 Rafales. Israel is presented as closing the gap.<\/p>\n The Achilles Shield air-defense plan has been approved, installation is due to start, and the systems are expected to be in service within 36 months, at a cost to Israel of \u20ac5.7 billion.<\/p>\n CNN T\u00fcrk\u2019s conclusion matches the wider Turkish framing: the message is aimed at Turkey, and Athens is trying to strengthen its position and secure superiority in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean.<\/p>\n \u00d6zg\u00fcr \u00d6zel\u2019s line<\/strong><\/p>\n On Turkey\u2019s own political stage, the opposition has been attacking President Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan\u2019s Middle East policy and accusing the government of bending to American direction. CHP leader \u00d6zg\u00fcr \u00d6zel condemned a military opening toward Saudi Arabia and Pakistan and said Ankara was being drawn into dangerous wars.<\/p>\n On the Saudi crown prince, he was blunt: the prince had Jamal Khashoggi murdered in Istanbul \u2014 \u201cthey crushed him and carried his bones in suitcases.\u201d Erdo\u011fan, \u00d6zel said, once called him a murderer and vowed he would not get away.<\/p>\n \u00d6zel added that Turkish leaders backed down as soon as the United States asked for a compromise, and that Ankara is now set to be drawn in, alongside Saudi Arabia, to the war in Yemen, with senior officials sent to arrange a troop deployment.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Rubio in Athens: Greek Influence \u201cLiterally Carved\u201d Into America<\/strong>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n