Soviet Union 1991

Third update

Madeleine's visit to Türkiye was like a shot of adrenaline hitting Greek President Konstantin Stephanopoulos, making him energetic all of a sudden. Since last year, Greece and Türkiye have had disputes and conflicts over the Imia Islands, which have even triggered the Imia crisis repeatedly.

All the causes can be traced back to the incident in December 1995 when a Turkish cargo ship ran aground on the small island of Imia due to an accident. Due to the sovereignty issue between Greece and Turkey, the Turkish captain clashed with the Greek Crete rescue team, and then the two countries began to fight over the ownership of the island.

Shortly after the grounding, Türkiye officially claimed sovereignty over the island. In early 1996, the Imia Island incident had attracted widespread attention in Greece. On January 26, 1996, the Greek side planted the Greek flag on the island for the first time. Turkish journalists then took a helicopter to the island and removed the Greek flag and replaced it with a Turkish flag. Within 24 hours, the Greek navy arrived and pulled out the Turkish flag. This led to fierce reactions from the two governments, with the two navies sounding the alarm and simultaneously heading towards the island. This was also the beginning of the Imiya crisis. Later, the helicopter aboard the Greek destroyer Navarino accidentally crashed while going to the small island of Imea for reconnaissance. Greece believed that it was shot down by Turkey, causing tension between the two countries.

Later, the United States intervened to mediate the dispute between the two countries because it was worried about civil strife in NATO, but it actually stood on the side of Greece. The EU also stood on the side of Greece and warned Turkey not to act rashly, which made Türkiye very passive. The two countries took the matter to the International Court of Justice, but there was still no result. Greece was unwilling to accept the defeat and always wanted to find an opportunity to retaliate. This also led to the subsequent crisis in which the Greek Mirage 2000 shot down the Turkish 16. Although Turkey claimed that the cause was a mechanical failure, anyone familiar with the conflict knew that 16 was actually shot down by the Greek Air Force.

Now that the United States has come to support the Greek government, Stephanopoulos suddenly feels like he has met his savior. President Stephanopoulos felt this way especially after seeing Secretary of State Madeleine, who is known as a political hawk.

Stephanopoulos poured out his bitterness to Secretary of State Madeleine and played the tragedy card, "Turkey did not restrain itself after the 16 fighter plane accident. Instead, it exerted political chips on the Imiya issue. If it is the Cyprus issue, it belongs to Turkey." Tolerate, then we will never tolerate Turkey’s misbehavior when it comes to safeguarding Greece’s sovereignty.”

After speaking, Stephanopoulos waved his fist several times to express his indignation. The issue of sovereignty has always been the most important thing for Turkey. In their eyes, the entire Aegean Sea has been Turkey's indivisible sacred territory since ancient times.

"The United States has never adopted a weak and compromised approach when it comes to helping Greece resolve its coastal border issue."

Madeleine revealed a strong political hawkish style as soon as she opened her mouth, "As you can see, the United States will never allow a second pro-Soviet country to appear within the Black Sea, and the other country is still one of the important allies of NATO. This It is a nightmare for the United States, NATO, and even Europe. Turkey under Maziyel’s control is like a comeback of the Ottoman Empire, with strong hostility to the West. This is not the outcome the United States wants to see.”

"Yes, so on the issue of Simia, I hope that the United States can..." President Stephanopoulos hesitated. He hoped that the United States could support Greece and remove the islands of Simia from the hands of the Turks. Snatch it back.

"Don't worry, the United States will definitely stand by Turkey." Madeleine said with a smile, "After all, Greece's enemies are the enemies of the United States. How can we allow our enemies to attack our allies."

This is Madeleine's first time coming to the most beautiful presidential palace on the Greek peninsula. The red curtains match the marble relief walls, and the gold-painted wall lamps emit a soft light. The dazzling light emitted by the dazzling crystal chandelier is as dazzling as the large diamonds hanging from the ceiling.

She answered Stephanopoulos' questions while touring the palace, which serves as the Greek presidential residence. The high heels stepped lightly on the red carpet, making a tiny crunching sound.

Secretary of State Madeleine turned her head and said to Stephanopoulos seriously, "Hasn't the Greek government heard about Türkiye's movements recently?"

Stephanopoulos frowned and asked softly, "Are you talking about the incident of Turkish Acting President Maziye's visit to Moscow? Doesn't the whole world know about this?"

Madeleine stopped, shook her head helplessly, and then corrected President Stephanopoulos, "It is not a visit to Moscow, but a visit to the Soviet Union's Sevastopol military base. This is what we are doing." The focus of the conversation.”

"Sevastopol military base?" Stephanopoulos chewed on the information hidden in Madeleine's words, and suddenly his face changed suddenly. He asked cautiously, "You mean Turkey purchased the Soviet Union's five According to the Soviet Union, Turkey may also purchase Soviet Kassin-class missile destroyers. Once such ships are equipped with Turkey, they will pose a major threat to the Greek Navy. "

As early as 1991 and 1992, the Greek Navy introduced four Adams-class guided missile destroyers from the United States for service. Later, the Greek Navy renamed them Kimon-class and became the main battleship of the Greek Navy. Afterwards, the Turkish Navy also took active actions. Since the American Adams-class destroyers were too old and had been sold out, the Turkish Navy purchased eight Knox-class guided missile frigates from the United States from 1993 to 1994. This started the arms race between the Greek Navy and the Turkish Navy in the 1990s.

"Turkey's purchase of poisonous spider missile boats and Cassin-class guided missile destroyers are actually not the focus." Secretary Madeleine stretched out a finger, waved it in front of him and said, "What if they purchase the Soviet Union's Glorious class cruiser?" , does the Greek navy still have the strength to compete?”

The corner of Stephanopoulos' mouth twitched. If the Black Sea monster like the Glory-class cruiser joins the Turkish Navy, it may really be a disaster for the Greek army.

What if Türkiye continues to purchase the Dreadnought class? The Greek navy could hardly imagine it.

Secretary Madeleine admired Stephanopoulos's uncertain face. She believed that her sensational remarks had made Stephanopoulos' scalp numb. As long as the Turkish president is suppressed, the next series of military negotiations and cooperation will become easy.

Stephanopoulos recovered from the shock and asked nervously, "So does the United States have any other ships for sale recently? I think the Greek Navy needs to strengthen its own strength."

What Madeleine was waiting for was Stephanopoulos's words. She coughed slightly and quickly threw out the words she had already prepared.

"Of course, dear President Stephanopoulos. The United States is selling Perry-class frigates recently. There are 8 ships in total. They were originally planned to be sold to the Turkish Navy. But I think the Greek Navy needs them more now." Mader Secretary Lin explained, “These eight Perry-class frigates will undergo a life extension program called Genesis, and will be modified after modification. Called the Perry-class G-class frigate, this frigate will be the most modernly modified and upgraded of the Perry-class and its derivatives in service in the world. They will even be equipped with the Adelaide in Australia. The similar mk41 vertical launch system and ESSM anti-aircraft missiles are simply frigates designed for the Aegean Island problem.”

Stephanopoulos's eyes lit up. At first, he was worried that the United States would sell it to Greece like it sold the old Adams destroyers. But now it seems that this batch of Perry-class frigates is far better than the original Adams. More than double. Moreover, the addition of eight Perry-class frigates to the Greek Navy will form a huge combat capability that will be breathtaking.

Madeleine explained, “Of the eight Perry-class frigates, one was given by the U.S. Navy as a gift to the Greek Navy, and the remaining seven will be sold to the Greek government.”

In the previous agreement with the Turkish government, three modernized Perry-class ships were originally to be transferred to the Turkish government for free. Now the U.S. government is gifting an old Perry-class ship that is about to be retired to the Greek Navy, and the remaining seven ships have passed through Modernized units are sold as usual.

"But I'm worried that Turkey won't be able to absorb so many ships at once." President Stephanopoulos said worriedly. Due to the continued impact of the global economic crisis in 1991, the Greek economy is not doing very well now. It is a little difficult for the navy to absorb eight frigates at once.

Madeleine smiled and comforted him, "It doesn't matter. These eight frigates can be sold to your government in three installments, ranging from four to six years. We are not an unreasonable country. If the Greek government Since it cannot afford so much expenditure for the time being, the United States can appropriately cut some unnecessary expenses.”

Madeline said in a seductive way, "I believe that when the Greek Navy possesses these new Perry-class frigates, its combat capability will far exceed that of the Turkish Navy. At that time, with the support of the United States, St. Will President Vanopoulos still worry about the sovereignty of the small island of Imia?”

Under Madeleine's instigation, Stephanopoulos first came up with the idea of ​​​​recovering all the islands and reefs. (To be continued.)