Tension in the Eastern Mediterranean: The Way Out

Speakers

• Gerald Knaus, Founding Chairman, European Stability Initiative (ESI)
• Michael Leigh, Senior Fellow, Bruegel, Academic Director, Master of Arts in European Public Policy, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)
• Nathalie Tocci, Director, Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI)

Moderator

• Ian Lesser, Vice President, Foreign Policy, Executive Director, Brussels, The German Marshall Fund of the United States

In the recent months, we have witnessed a significant increase in tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean between Turkey and Greece. They found themselves on the brink of war over territory after almost one hundred years. The current confrontation between the two countries is centered on a long-standing disagreement over territorial boundaries in the Aegean Sea and wider Mediterranean Sea. There is also the Cyprus issue, which has remained unresolved and constitutes another source of tension in the region. This recent tension triggered with the increasing naval maneuvers could provoke a conflict which will have consequences throughout the region. Who can effectively play the intermediary role between the two countries to decrease the tension and bring them to the negotiation table? The EU? The United States or Germany? What are the other resolution mechanisms that can be used to resolve these problems? This discussion aims at finding new ideas and suggestions for the de-escalation and resolution of this territorial conflict.

This online event is part of a series of events and analyses organized as part of the GMF-TOBB Fellowship on Turkey, Europe, and Global Issues launched by GMF in partnership with the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) in 2017.