The Eastern Mediterranean Sea and the Geopolitical Developments-Part II

The Crisis between Greece and Russia which outbreak in the summer of 2018 has its base to the Russian penetration in Balkans and in the Eastern Mediterranean and in the trying to prevent this Russian penetration by the EU & USA.

In the second part (Part-II) of the analysis of the issue “the Eastern Mediterranean and the Geopolitical Developments” we will try to highlight, except other things, how are linked the two crises between the US-Turkey and between Russia-Greece respectively.

by Thanos S. Chonthrogiannis-https://www.liberalglobe.com

The historic long-term connections between Greece and Russia

Both Greece and Russia have long-term religious, historic and trade connections between them. In summation, these connections between Greece and Russia are since:

1) The country of Russ had long-term religious, historic and trade connections with the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, especially after the adaptation from the country of Russ (980-1015) AD of the Christian Orthodox Doctrine (the doctrine of the Eastern Catholic Orthodox Church).

While the Russ constituted part of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire.

2) The Tsarist Russia prepared centuries ago and helped the Greeks significantly in the war of their independence (1821) against the Ottoman Empire.

3) The transfer of shipping capital and the acquisition of the largest merchant fleet worldwide today belonging to the Greeks, has its roots in the relations of Hellenism (not of the Greek state which at that time did not exist) with the Tsarist Russia.

Following the signing of the second treaty of Kujuk-Kainartzi (1774) between Tsarist Russia and the Ottoman Empire, the Greek ships could carry the Russian flag without being controlled by the Ottomans.

While with the “Treaty of Armed Neutrality of the Sea”, Greek ships were able to equip themselves with weapons, later making them the war fleet of revolution during the Greek struggle for independence.

The only black point in their relations was the military and financial support of Lenin and the Bolsheviks in the movement of the New Turks and their leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk against the Greeks during the liberation struggle conducted by the Greek Army in Asia Minor (1919-1922); which eventually led to the defeat of the then Greek army.

This help of the Bolsheviks to the movement of New Turks was caused as an act of revenge towards the sending of a battalion of the Greek Army to the Odessa (Ukraine), sent by the then Prime Minister of Greece, Eleutherius Venizelos (1917-1920).

Following the suggestion of the then British Empire to support the Russian Tsar troops (Nikolaos II, -Nikolai Alexandrovic Romanov) against the Bolsheviks and Lenin during the Russian (October) Revolution (1917).

These inextricable long-standing ties exist between the Greek and the Russian people independently of any conflict that exists between the governments of these countries.

The Orthodox Christian clergy of Greece and Russia are the connecting link that holds and maintains these ties between the two peoples.

Russia, through the Orthodox clergy and from the beginning of the building of the Greek state, cultivated in Greece the separation of the West-East.

Since the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire which is represented from the Orthodox Christian Church means East while the history of Ancient Greece which is the base of the West civilization means West.

The historical efforts to prevent Russian penetration in the Balkans and the Mediterranean Sea

The prevention of the Russian penetration in the Balkans and in the Mediterranean Sea is not a recent fact, but it started since the 19th century and from the independence war of Greece against the Ottoman Empire.

Greece, from its building as a new Kingdom of the 19th century with the then guarantor forces which constituted then in what in one word we call West (England, France, Prussia), was the most neutral state.

Without this neutrality, Russia would never allow the annexation of Greece to the then Western powers. This neutral state-Greece had to offer an impediment to the Russian and Turkish influence on the Balkans and the Mediterranean Sea.

A neutrality which has been maintained since then by Greece in several positions in its foreign policy with Russia but which, after the diplomatic crisis between Russia and Greece in the summer of 2018, probably has now ceased to exist.

However, Greece from its building as a state has had and still has a permanent rivalry with Turkey, but never with Russia. The reason why Greece has no rivalry with Russia is the Greek and the Russian Orthodox Christian clergy respectively who they are the connecting link between these peoples.

On the other hand, the permanent rivalry that Greece has with Turkey-in summation I am referring to-is since Greece regards Turkey as its “eternal” enemy that conquered the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire (1453), that the present remnant of this Eastern Roman Empire is the today Greek state.

In contrast, Turkey considers Greece as its “eternal” demon that because of the Greeks struggle for their independence (1821), became the cause of the subsequent destruction of the Ottoman Empire, that the current remnant of this Ottoman Empire is the Turkish state.

Similarly, the role of the Western powers since and until now is the role of the referee both between Greece (neutral state against Russia) and Russia and between Greece and Turkey (rivals).

The then European Western powers (19th century) did not want in any way Greece as a state to end up being part of Russia’s geopolitical chessboard.

The then need to restrain Russia from Greece was based as a cause in the Crimean war (1857), while today for the West (USA, UK & EU) the need to restrain Russia from Greece is caused due to the annexation of Crimea (2014) from Russia.

What was then and what is now the highest strategic importance of Greece and the Hellenic space in the eastern Mediterranean in general for West

The Hellenism, not Greece as a state, has historically been divided between East and West i.e. in the Balkan peninsula, Asia Minor, Middle East, South Italy, Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea in general (geopolitically and geographically in the Mediterranean Sea is including the Black Sea).

The characteristic of Hellenism is that it consists of a set of citizens (regardless of their nationality and their origin) who spoke then and still speak the Greek language (ancient Greek and later Modern Greek).

Which Greek language was and still is a carrier of a system of ideas, values and worldviews that constituted a structured global ideology giving the right to those who spoke and knew it to participate in a way of superior cultural life.

This superior cultural life was based on Greek education, and next all these Greek-speaking people gained “the right” to participate in a common religious education (Christianity-Christian Gospels), which also based itself on the Greek language.

So, the Greek language constitutes a civilized carrier of this global ideology which hanged all the ancient world of Mediterranean i.e. Asia Minor, Persia, Egypt, Middle East and Roman Empire and next Eastern Roman Empire & Western Roman Empire, Europe and today West.

The Greek language was spoken, apart from the emperors of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire because it was the official language of the administration of the Empire, by Marcus Aurelius Antonius Augustus-Emperor of the Roman Empire (121-180 AD), Saint Jerome, (347-420) AD-Father of the Roman Catholic Church and David Ben Gurion (1886-1973) founder and architect of the State of Israel and more generally was speaking by all the Mediterranean populations, regardless of their nationality and origin.

Nowadays, all the great schools of the West countries are obligatory teaching ancient Greek so that their students and future citizens of a free world, irrespective of their nationality, can participate in this global ideology and culture.

For these reasons, the Greek language is perhaps one of the most precious heritages of humanity, and its preservation is a matter for the whole planet, not just for Greece.

The Greek language is a carrier of a civilization which in nowadays has become global. This huge strategic importance had and still has the Greek space for Europe. For this reason, Greece is always referred as the cradle of Western civilization.

The present Europe that is expressed through the EU is the dual essence of the ancient Christian world that is mainly based and composed

1) in the rise of the western part of the ancient Roman world – today’s western Europe (bringing through the centuries the shift of political power from the eastern part of the ancient Roman world-the Eastern Mediterranean to the western part of the ancient Roman world – (France, UK) and the North (Germany).

2) and in the fall of the eastern part of the ancient Roman world (which lost its political power shifted to Western Europe) – whose symbolic remnant is the current Greek state.

The fall of the Eastern part of the ancient Roman world – the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire – with its conquest by the Ottoman Empire, is the main cause of the diachronic accusations expressed by the Greeks and especially by the Greek Orthodox Christian clergy against Europe and the Roman Catholic Church.

Thus, preserving a spiritual and essential divide between today’s Europe and Greece.

This is the main historic-political reason that Greece (which is the foundation stone and the roots of the Western civilization) entered in the hard core of the Eurozone and is one of the first established EU member countries.

In nowadays there are and other factors which make the Greek geopolitical space and the Greek state of the highest strategic importance to Europe and to the West in general.

In addition, today Greece has the largest merchant fleet in the world and globally the shipping capital belongs in the hands of the Greeks.

Any monetary association of member-states that has as its member Greece, automatically disposes and has the largest and cheaper way of transporting bulk of goods in the world’s consumer markets.

The Greek shipowners control the cost of maritime transport fares worldwide.

Since oil is valued in US dollars, e.g. if Greece belonged to the US dollar zone rather than the euro zone, the cost of shipping goods in an economic war would be high for countries such as the EU, etc. making EU products uncompetitive with other countries.

If the world reserve currency stops for some reason being the US dollar and become e.g. the euro, the EU will have huge profits from maritime transport and will indirectly gain control over the world economy and trade, respectively, due to the transport of goods by sea.

For this reason, the Greek shipowners are motivated by the West through in time motives to have the headquarters of their companies among the countries of West, London-UK (£-sterling), New York-US ($-US dollar) and Piraeus-Greece/EU (€-Euro) and that the headquarters of these Greek shipping companies would never be found in their entirety under the same currency (country).

In which case this country would cause problems even among the countries of the West.

This is the main economic-strategic reason that Greece should be and continue to be in the Eurozone/EU and in general in the “camp” of the West.

Geopolitically, Greece through the Aegean Sea controls the sea passage of the Bosporus straits-the entrance and exit of the Marmara Sea-leading from the Mediterranean Sea to the Black Sea and vice-versa (geographically and geopolitically the Black Sea is part of the Mediterranean Sea).

In this way, and directly the West through Greece controls the access of Russia and in general the access of the countries that have seashores in the Black Sea, from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea and vice-versa.

More specifically, Turkey controls the Bosporus straits (Marmara Sea) which unify the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea.

If the West i.e. misses Turkey as one of its members, then Greece, as an integrated member of the West, can expand legally (according to the International Sea Law) its sea borders from six (6) sea miles which are today to twelve (12) sea miles.

In this case, Greece will transform completely the Aegean Sea to a Greek “lake” only for the Turkey naval and given that the Turkey naval does not follow the international rules of secure pass, without Greece to affect the corridors of free navigation.

That is why the US is increasing its military presence with new military bases in the Aegean Sea and in Greece in general, to acquire the full control of the Aegean Sea by completely disrupting Russia’s descent into the Eastern Mediterranean.

At the same time ensuring that no Greek government and Greece as a country in general will leave NATO for anything happen and given that everyone knows that Greece will never close “the door” and the “windows” to Russia, as it concerns the Russia’s access to Eastern Mediterranean.

If the West for some reason misses Greece, then whoever country has in its classes Greece gets access as much to the soft undergrowth of both Central and Western Europe equally, as in the Balkans and controls fully the Eastern Mediterranean.

Here you will allow me a parenthesis. The same strategic importance that Greece has for Europe on its southeastern border is the whole of the Scandinavian peninsula for the north-eastern border of Europe.

By looking at the map of Europe’s morphology towards the East, both the Scandinavian Peninsula and Greece are the “castles” or “calipers” of Europe that if one of them or both overcome or conquered, the Europe can collapse directly, even if along it, the its eastern front is kept intact.

With the defeat of the Greek Army during the liberation struggle in Asia Minor (1919-1922), the movement of the New Turks with their leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk did not dare to continue the war in the Greek Aegean Sea, as was there the nightmare of the Turkish navy, the Greek Navy.

The Greek navy that had extinguished the Turkish navy in the Balkan wars (1912-1913). It was the West that had also its naval ships on the coast of Asia Minor during the destruction of Smyrna (1922).

It was also the West that did not allow the then Greek government to command the Fourth Corps of the Greek Army, which was on the north-eastern border between Greece and Turkey, to invade East Thrace.

Because the Greek army could occupy Constantinople in two days as the whole Turkish army was in Asia Minor and there was no Turkish army capable of defending East Thrace and Constantinople (Istanbul).

Neither Greece nor Turkey could fully control this highly strategic sea pass that includes the Bosporus Straits (the Marmara Sea) and the Aegean Sea as a whole.

The strategy of the West “Divided and Reigned” appears in its full implementation between Greece and Turkey.

For all the above reasons, in the period of the unofficial bankruptcy of the Greek state (2009-2010) and its exclusion from lending to the world’s capital markets (10/01/2010), the West with its international organizations and institutions (EU, ECB, IMF) gave for the first time in history the unprecedented amount of funds to save a western country of about €281bn via three memoranda I (2010-2012), II (2012-2015) and III (2015-2018) for the financing of the Greek economy in order to keep Greece in the Eurozone and in the EU.

Due to its over-indebtedness and its borrowing from the West, Greece politically, economically and geopolitically will continue to belong to the West at least until the next fifty years.

The fact that after so many funds the debt of the Greek general government (public debt) is unsustainable, and the Greek economy is fraught with unsustainable growth and high levels of poverty and unemployment to exist among the population, is due to the erroneous implementation of the aforementioned support programs in the Greek economy made by the most corrupt and adventurous political and state administrative personnel of the planet, the Greek political system and the Greek state administration respectively.

In order Greece to cease to be a permanent debt and underdevelopment wound for the EU, Greece will have to make structural changes to its Constitution.

These structural changes will must mirror on the annual Greek central and general government budget equally.

So that both types of Greek governmental budgets to have permanent developmental orientation and at the same time will exclude all sorts of embezzlements on the state budget that are generally applied by the political parties that govern them.

How Greece will solve its macroeconomic and developmental problems and how the Eurozone/EU will escape from deflation and will follow an explosive type of development on its territory is the subject of a detailed study that I will present in another way.

More generally, the Mediterranean Sea has the importance of Europe’s southern borders (EU) and consists the security lines of the Mediterranean Eurozone and EU member countries.

The London Protocol (1830), also known as “the conditions of independence of Greece”, which recognized Greece officially as a state, provided in these circumstances, among other things, the complete freedom of other religious doctrines and Catholicism and granted full religious freedoms since the then Western powers feared the Russian influence in Greece through the Orthodox Christian Church.

At the same time, however, these religious freedoms appearing in Greece were a hindrance to and danger to Balkan Orthodoxy and Russia’s influence in the Balkans through the Russian Orthodox Church.

Moscow as the seat of the Russian Orthodox Church and not only, is considered as the third (3rd) Rome (theory of Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (1221-1263))- from second center of power of Orthodox Christianity, and in general center of power of Christianity, has become the first center of power of the Christian Orthodox doctrine after the capture of Constantinople (Istanbul) by the Ottomans (1453).

The crisis between the Christian Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate and Christian Orthodox Russia Church

Given that against the Russian Christian Orthodox Church the Greek Christian Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch with his seat at Constantinople (Istanbul) (historically the second (2nd) Rome-second center of power of Christianity and first center of power of the Orthodox Christian Doctrine) was “captive” then by the Ottoman Empire and today he is “captive” by the Turkey which is a Muslim country.

A “captivity” that has been up to date and it is on interest of the Russian Orthodox Church not to change this state of “captivity” of the Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch.

The Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch could not but still today cannot fully assume the role of the opposite pole towards the third (3rd) Rome that was and still is the Russian Christian Orthodox Church (Moscow).

So that the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch to place under his spiritual power all the Christian Orthodox populations of Balkans and not only (Georgia, Armenia, Russia etc.).

By removing them from the Russian penetration and influence that exists in these days both in these populations and their corresponding countries, with result of leaving a free field of actions in the Balkans for Russia.

The “captivity” of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (2nd Rome) lies in the fact that its seat is in a Muslim country (Turkey), which places various restrictions on Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (Istanbul).

These restrictions are i.e. on the criteria for who will become a Patriarch and more generally places political pressures, economic pressures, etc. to the institution of Ecumenical Patriarchate according to the interests of that country, and not based on the interests of the Orthodox Christians’ populations around the world.

Since the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (2nd Rome) of the Eastern and Catholic Orthodox Church is liberated from all sorts of restrictions which are now existing, it will also be able to accept candidates of the Ecumenical Patriarch seat from other Christian Orthodox countries and likewise with the electoral system of the Roman Catholic Church.

In this case, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople will is free to fully play the global role it has in Christian Orthodox populations throughout the world.

In nowadays, the Russian Orthodox clergy has excellent relations and great influence in the Monasteries of Saint Mountain (North Greece) and excellent relations with the Archbishops of North Greece.

Who all of them belong spiritually and administratively to the “capture” Ecumenical Patriarch of the Eastern and Catholic Christian Orthodox Church which has its seat in Constantinople (Istanbul), and considers historically as the second (2nd) Rome.

The goal of Russia is to undermine and undermine over time – if it cannot fully control – the second (2nd) Rome of Christianity (Constantinople) and historically the first center of power of Christian Orthodox Church as for its action that can do the second (2nd) Rome in the Balkan Christian Orthodox countries, but also in Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Russia and in Greece also.

Thus, engaging in the sphere of influence of the Third (3rd) Rome (Moscow) the spiritual and administrative basis of the Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople (2nd Rome) in Northern Greece.

I believe that now everyone can understand why the Foreign Ministry of Greece in the summer of 2018 (13-27 July) abducted Russian diplomats and refused to issue an entry visa to Greece to Russian Orthodox clergymen who were going to Saint Mountain (North Greece), creating the crisis between Greece and Russia.

The then and the today suspension equally of Russia penetration in the Mediterranean Sea and the Balkans through Greece

The then European Western powers of the 19th century (England, France, Prussia) with aim to stop the influence of the Russian Christian Orthodox Church in Balkans, pointed out in the then Greek government via the voting of the Greek Constitution of 1844 specific steps.

In this Greek Constitution (1844) are determined,

1) the operations and the legislation of the Greek state,

2) and are abolished the until then so-called religious freedoms that conceded the London Protocol (1830),

3) and is forbidden the proselytism,

4) and is defined the Constitutional monarchy in Greece,

while this Constitution obliges the Greek King to be a Christian Orthodox in religion.

For this reason, timeless a member of the royal family and successor to the throne of England (Pax Britannica) was always in his religion Christian Orthodox.

Guaranteeing that Greece if it needed could had King coming only from the then European Western powers, keeping Greece always in the “chariot” of the West.

Given that the King of Greece, apart from all others, being the head of the Greek Orthodox Church.

This change reinforced the role of the Greek Christian Orthodox Church, which was in complete contrast to the policy of the European Western powers in Greece to halt the Russian influence in Greece.

To correct this problem, the European Western powers then displayed the Greek Orthodox Church as a new institution of the existence of the new Greek state/Kingdom, ruling at the same time the ideology prevailing in the then Greek state and expressed through the Greek Christian Orthodox Church.

With the characterization of the self-rule of the Greek Orthodox Church and far from the control of the Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarchate which has base in Constantinople (second-2nd Rome), Greece acquires its own Christian Orthodox Church and ceases to belong in the “captive” Ecumenical Patriarchate of Orthodox Christians, which was controlled then by the Ottoman Empire.

The Greek Orthodox Church is transformed as much in a constituent body of the Greek state and a self-governing imperialist and highly expansive Greek state organization on the Balkans in the hands of the then European Western powers, creating the necessary embankment to the Russian influence in the Balkans but not in Greece.

The strategy of performance and characterization of the autocephalous (self-rule) Greek Orthodox Christian Church was used and attributed to the Christian Orthodox Churches of the later independent states of the Balkans (Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania) that won their independence from the then Ottoman Empire with the aim of controlling and restraining further the Russian penetration in the Balkans.

Today, attribution and the characterization of the self-rule in the Ukraine Christian Orthodox Church and its fully and its complete secession from the Russian Orthodox Church (3rd Rome) and its direct subordination to the Ecumenical Christian Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople (2nd Rome) provokes tensions both between Ukraine (West) and Russia and between Moscow (3rd Rome) and Ecumenical Christian Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople (2nd Rome).

There was no need for Western efforts to bring these self-rule Christian Orthodox Churches of the Balkans together with the self-governing Greek Christian Orthodox Church.

Given that the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire had been occupied (mainly in its Balkan territories) from solid Slavic populations since 1000 AD and after, the Christian Orthodox Church of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire succeeded through the teaching of her doctrine based on the Greek language and communicated her essence and religious education to all these Slavic populations.

But always adapted and translated her substance in the national characteristics of these populations.

This resulted in all these Slavic populations in the Balkans to retain their national characteristics during the Ottoman Empire and claiming – starting in the 19th century and for about one hundred (100) years after the Greek liberation struggle (1821 ) – their national independence from the Ottoman Empire (The Treaty of Bucharest, 1913) and after the expansive revolutionary contribution to the Balkans of the self-governing Greek Orthodox Christian Church which was fully controlled by the West.

These are the reasons that Greece as a state always and timeless participated in the “camp” of the great naval western powers (England, France, USA) and never found herself in the camp of the great territorial powers (Prussia, Austro-Hungarian, Germany, Tsarist Russia, USSR).

After the end of the B World War and following the signatures of the Yalta treaties (1945), has been fully settled as to where Greece belongs politically (West).

Thanos S. Chonthrogiannis

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