Where does Greece stand concerning Israel?

Submitted by Michael S. (United States), Aug 17, 2014 at 12:21

Hi, Alexandros

Though you live in UK, you seem knowledgeable about what went on in Cyprus. Perhaps you can help me understand something: I have followed opinion polls from Europe, and I notice that the Turks, Greeks AND Cypriots all seem to have very negative attitudes against both Israel and the US; though Greece and Cyprus both have very good military relations with Israel (whereas Turkey, of course, seems ready to go to war with Israel).

My question is this: How close, in reality, are Greece and Cyprus to Israel? Cyprus is very weak and not a NATO member, so it cannot be expected to take a strong stand when bullied by a regional power such as Turkey. Greece has enough clout to stand up to Turkey, especially with Israeli support; but Greece seems to have been very accommodating of the Turks in recent years. If Turkey attacked Israel, would Greece oppose Turkey? Or would it, as I suspect, remain strictly neutral?

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