Building on Greek-Turkish Detente
The world remains focused on the Greek financial crisis, but an important positive spin-off could be a deeper Greek-Turkish détente. Greece’s high defense spending has fueled to its economic woes, and better relations with Turkey would enable Prime Minister George Papandreou to cut spending, thereby helping to rescue the economy while promoting regional stability.
Greece’s high defense spending has contributed to its economic woes. Indeed, the country has Europe’s highest military expenditures relative to GDP. Improvement in relations with Turkey could enable Prime Minister George Papandreou – who hosts Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan this week – to cut defense spending and make it easier to rescue an economy on the brink of bankruptcy.