Tensions at boiling point in Eastern Mediterranean

Published: Aug. 31, 2020, 10 p.m.

Greece and Turkey are gearing up for yet another armed conflict. Turkish president Erdogan appears to be lashing out at his neighbors Greece, Cyprus, Syria, and even Libya, and he is warning Greece, Cyprus, and Israel that oil exploration in the Mediterranean will be a causus belli for Turkey. At the same time, Turkish fighter jets violate Greek airspace on a daily basis, Turkish warships are in the Aegean Sea off the coast of the Greek islands, and Greece has called up its military reserves to prepare for war. Brian and John speak with Dr. Gönül Tol, the founding director of The Middle East Institute’s Center for Turkish Studies, and a former professor who has taught courses on Islamist movements in Western Europe, Turkey, world politics, and the Middle East.