Britain in denial over EU-Turkey time bomb
Britain seems oblivious to the threat posed by
growing tensions in the eastern Mediterranean between Turkey on the one side,
and European Union countries such as Greece, France, and Cyprus on the other,
columnist Mark Almond said in the Telegraph on Thursday.
The British Foreign Office provides travel
advisories for danger zones, but its advice about Greek islands in the eye of
the storm close to the Turkish coast is about the risk of COVID-19, rather than
the threat of an armed confrontation.
Greece has deployed naval vessels and the air force
to shadow Turkey's seismic exploration ship Oruç Reis, which arrived with
Turkish warships on Monday in a territorially disputed area - a move which
Athens described as a threat to peace and stability in the region.
Britain also still has two military bases on Cyprus,
and Turkish troops still occupy the northern half of the island.
“British expats and tourists in Cyprus might
continue to enjoy a quiet life if the tensions lift, but there is little sign
that London is alert to the risks to them and our military there,” Almond said.
“Nonchalance in a crisis can be an impressive pose,
but the lassitude gripping British foreign policy this mid-summer is a symptom
of a deeper confusion in Whitehall about what this country’s role should be
around the world post-Brexit,” he added.
