About a month ago, the well-known politician in Greece, former minister, Alekos Papadopoulos, in an opinion, in the Greek media, stressed that Turkey has invaded Albania in all political, economic and military sectors, raising concerns in Athens, but apparently, from the Greek capital, there is no reaction, while it remains to be seen, the strained relations between the Greeks living in the South of Albania (Northern Epirus) and the government of Mitsotakis
March 12, 2021
"This week, a Turkish submarine anchored off the Albanian coast for a three-day visit. This is the third year in a row that submarines from Ankara stay for several days in Albania for training and joint military activities with Albanian forces.
Durrës Port Authority announced today through a post on social networks that the Turkish submarine "TCG Çanakkale" arrived in port on March 9 and that the three-day stay of the Turkish submarine comes within the cooperation between the two countries on the exchange of joint experience between the Albanian fleet. and the Turkish one. According to data from the military attaché office at the Turkish Embassy in Tirana, the submarine is 62 meters long and its crew consists of 53 sailors.
This is in fact the fourth time in the last five years that a Turkish submarine anchors off the Albanian coast.
The anchoring of the Turkish submarine comes as Defense Minister Niko Peleshi chose Ankara for his first official visit since taking office. In a statement, the Ministry of Defense says that Peleshi held a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar, with whom he talked about increasing cooperation in the field of defense and implementing an agreement on receiving military grants from Turkey, signed by his predecessor. , Olta Xhaçka.
"Peleshi assured Akar that our country remains open to joint investments in the field of defense industry and that we welcome any serious offer from Turkish companies in this field," the Ministry of Defense announced. "He thanked his counterpart for the support that Turkey has given to Albania, not only in the modernization of the Armed Forces and Civil Emergencies, but also in the education of young Albanian military," the statement said. The official visit of the Minister of Defense in Ankara follows the visit of Prime Minister Rama earlier this year, where he was received with honors by the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Following agreements in the field of education, infrastructure or trade, the Albanian Parliament ratified a year ago the Agreement on financial and military cooperation between Ankara and Tirana. This agreement was the last signed between Turkey and the countries of the Western Balkans, and according to analysts comes as part of Turkey's strategy to increase the military weight in our country and in the region.
According to the Albanian Council of Ministers, the pact aimed to further strengthen military co-operation while Turkey pledged to contribute to the restructuring of the Albanian Armed Forces. Through this agreement, President Erdogan promises to provide financial assistance in a few years, in exchange for the purchase of Turkish weapons and military equipment.
As a result, in October last year, Albania reportedly purchased drone systems from a Turkish defense company based in Turkey. "The anti-drone system" IHAMAX "exported to Albania is superior to other products in its field, weighs about 4 kg and provides linear and circular protection up to 2 km".
Another signal of the increase in military cooperation between the two countries is the fact that Turkish consultants often participate in the training of the Albanian Armed Forces.
Greek media have raised the alarm on the other hand that Ankara is also preparing to expand its facilities at the Pashaliman base in Vlora. In the youth protests against the execution of Klodian Rasha, the Albanian police were seen wearing Turkish uniforms.
According to the Ministry of Defense, the Turkish-funded facilities of the ammunition factory in Polican and the Bisht Palla naval base in Durres, which provide unimpeded access to all Turkish Navy ships as part of bilateral military co-operation, have also been upgraded. Albanian commandos and the Special Military Military Police Force in Zall Herr have already replaced Russian weapon models with Turkish automatic weapons, such as the M20, MP5, M4A1, MPT-76, etc.
"Turkish-Albanian military co-operation dates back to the late 1990s, with military reconstruction projects and the training of Albanian army officers in Turkish military academies," said Alban Dafa, an Albanian defense expert at the Institute for Democracy and Mediation. on social networks. "Turkey has the highest number of Albanian officers trained abroad, compared to officers trained in other NATO countries such as Italy, Greece and the United States," he said.
According to him, last year's agreement would not be the first in the defense sector between Turkey and the Balkan countries, as Ankara is increasing its political, financial and cultural influence in the region every year.
"Turkey entered the region with a soft power approach," said Sencer Gozubenli, an expert on Turkey at Abo Akademi University in Finland, citing the restoration of Ottoman-era mosques and other historical monuments, as well as cultural donations. and those in the field of education.
"However, Turkish decision-makers realized that building a mosque does not constitute a real political influence when necessary. "Cooperation in the field of defense and a country's dependence on Turkey would create a real mechanism for political influence."
According to him, with the increase of military cooperation, Turkey has made it clear that it wants to be a "regional authority by expanding arms purchase agreements and even greater donations."
"Turkey has new ambitions in the Balkans to improve its defense co-operation through new donations and agreements," Gozubenli said. "Ankara wants to sell new weapons and sign several agreements with countries in the region to create dependence on its products."
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