FIRST ON FOX: Expansionist rhetoric has been a major concern in NATO for several years amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but according to Greece’s top defense official, the security alliance should take seriously similar threats from within its own coalition, in particular from Turkey.

A decades-old feud over the island nation of Cyprus between Greece and Turkey, both of which have been members of NATO since 1952, has plagued the alliance for over half a century and spill-over conflicts pushed the two countries nearly to the brink of war in the 1990s. 

Though relations between Greece and Turkey have become less outwardly hostile in recent years, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s pursuit of regional natural resources coupled with his controversial geopolitical actions in the Middle East and Aegean Sea have long drawn criticism that he is looking to "recreate" the Ottoman Empire.

TURKEY AND GREECE LEADERS TO MEET, PUT FRIENDSHIP INITIATIVE TO THE TEST AMID GAZA AND UKRAINE WARS

"There's some people in Turkey that go back to the Ottoman times and believe that they could recreate the Ottoman Empire, including parts of Greece, parts of Syria, parts of Iraq, parts of Iran, half of the Caucasus, etc.," Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias said during an interview with Fox News Digital. 

"I hope that this is daydream, but it creates a lot of problems in the relations with Greece, a lot of problems within NATO."

Erdoğan, who has been president of Turkey since 2014, has long been criticized for his aggressive approach in dealing with regional nations like Iraq, Yemen, Libya and Israel, but also his oppressive practices at home that have targeted non-Sunni communities, including Shiites and Christians, journalists, women and Kurds. It's an issue that has not only blocked Turkey from joining the European Union, but has increasingly held geopolitical ramifications for the U.S. 

The U.S.’s chief ally in the fight against ISIS in Syria, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), has found itself in Ankara’s crosshairs as it views the Kurdish-affiliated force as being akin to the terrorist network, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). 

Turkey has routinely targeted the group and prompted international concern over how the SDF will be able to continue to effectively fight ISIS should the Trump administration withdraw U.S. troops from Syria.

"ISIS, let us be frank and honest, is down but not out," Dendias said. "The ideology behind ISIS, the ideology behind the Muslim Brotherhood is there, is alive and kicking. 

"And I have to say, the worst thing that you can do in life is forget your allies, forget the people who fought by your side in your hour of need, and turn against them or forget about them," the defense minister continued. "I'm speaking about the Kurds fighting against ISIS for years. They should not be forgotten by the West."

TRUMP SAYS TURKEY ‘DID AN UNFRIENDLY TAKEOVER’ IN SYRIA AS US-BROKERED CEASE-FIRE APPEARS TO FAIL

The fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime has renewed concerns over regional stability, and the close dynamic between Trump and Erdoğan has raised more questions about how the Turkish president will pursue his regional ambitions. 

Dendias argued that the close relationship allegedly shared between the two world leaders will not necessarily embolden Erdoğan and could uniquely position Trump to "whisper" in the ear of the Turkish leader and remind him that "international law, international [rules] of the sea, is a way of life in this modern world."

"I assume that it will not be good at all for NATO and would not be good at all for the United States of America to encourage Turkey to create a huge problem in the eastern front of NATO, taking also into account what's happening in the Middle East and what's happening between Russia and Ukraine," the defense minster added. 

TURKISH LEADER CLAIMS US BASES IN GREECE POSE DIRECT 'THREAT' AMID SPAT WITH ATHENS OVER NATO EXPANSION

Earlier this month, Turkey relaunched military exercises in the Black, Mediterranean and Aegean Seas known as "Blue Homeland," which Greece has long viewed as a show of force and prompted long-held maritime disputes to resurface. 

"This [is a] new Turkish neo-imperialist, neo-Ottoman approach," Dendias said. "It started appearing somewhere in the first decade of the 21st century … which, in essence, claims that half of the Greek islands in the Aegean belong to Turkey. 

"And sometimes they even go further. They claim that Crete, a huge island with very important NATO presence and an American base in Souda – again, should belong to Turkey." 

The defense minster said Greece’s tense relations with Turkey have made its defensive posture in NATO unique because it has forced Athens to be on top of its defense spending, an issue that has once again become a top matter of discussion in the NATO alliance due to Trump’s push to have all nations meet a 5% GDP spending limit, up from 2%. 

The latest NATO spending figures released in June 2024 show Greece was the fifth-highest spender on defense in the alliance, spending more than 3% of its GPD, while Turkey came in 18th and spent just over 2% of its GDP on defense.  

Dendias said European nations need to collectively agree on how they view security threat levels and the importance of defense spending.

"Regardless of President Trump's position on 5%, it's an internal issue and needs to be resolved," Dendias added.

"The biggest threat is countries that do not abide by international law and do not abide by international law of the sea. Countries that believe that borders [are] something that you can disregard, that treaties and international treaties should work only if it's to your advantage," Dendias said. "That is the biggest threat to the whole world, not just Greece."

Additional questions to Dendias about President Trump’s recent comments on his refusal to rule out military intervention in acquiring Greenland and the Panama Canal were not answered. 

The Turkish embassy in Washington, D.C. did not respond to Fox News Digital's questions but instead pointed to a statement issued by the Turkish Minister of National Defense, Yaşar Güler, who ahead of the "Blue Homeland" exercises said, "Our country, located at the very heart of a region surrounded by conflicts and disputes, consistently emphasizes its commitment to international law and peace in preventing tensions and resolving crises.

"We approach the development of our relations with our neighbor Greece within this framework and take significant steps toward resolving problems," he added. "The efforts to portray Turkey's determination to protect its rights and interests in the ‘Blue Homeland’ as ‘historical expansionism and aggression’ are nothing more than a futile attempt to disregard the rights granted to Turkey by international law. 

"However, while striving for a peaceful solution, we strongly emphasize that we will never compromise our national rights and interests," Güler said earlier this month.

The "Military Operations Command" of the de facto government of Syria, led by the jihadist terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), announced on Wednesday that its leader Ahmed al-Sharaa was officially the president of the country.

The post Syria Jihadis Declare Top Warlord Ahmed al-Sharaa as ‘President’ appeared first on Breitbart.

Director of national intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard shed further light on her 2017 meeting with then-Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, a trip that has come under the microscope since President Donald Trump nominated the former congresswoman. 

"There is not a great deal in the public record about what you and Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad discussed for so long in January of 2017. And I think there's a great deal of interest from the American people about what was discussed in that meeting. So what did you talk about? And did you press Assad on things like his use of chemical weapons, systematic torture and the killing of so many Syrians?" Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., asked Gabbard on Thursday. 

Gabbard, when she served in the U.S. House, traveled to Syria in 2017, when she met with the dictator, whose government was overthrown years later in 2024. The visit has become a focal point of Democrats' criticism of the DNI nominee, arguing the visit casts doubt on her worldview and judgment. 

'LIES AND SMEARS': TULSI GABBARD RAILS AGAINST DEM NARRATIVE SHE'S TRUMP'S AND PUTIN'S 'PUPPET'

"Yes, senator, I, upon returning from this trip, I met with people like then-Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Steny Hoyer, talked to them and answered their questions about the trip," Gabbard, who served in the U.S. House representing Hawaii from 2013 to 2021, responded. 

TENSION BUILDS AROUND TULSI GABBARD’S CONFIRMATION WITH KEY GOP SENATORS UNDECIDED

"And quite frankly, I was surprised that there was no one from the intelligence community or the State Department who reached out or showed any interest whatsoever in my takeaways from that trip. I would have been very happy to have a conversation and give them a back brief. I went with former Congressman Dennis Kucinich, who had been there many times before and who had met with Assad before. A number of topics were covered and discussed. And to directly answer your question, yes. I asked him tough questions about his own regime's actions. The use of chemical weapons and the brutal tactics that were being used against his own people."

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi also met with Assad in 2007, despite then-President George W. Bush's criticism of the visit at the time. 

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ SPARKS BACKLASH FOR CLAIMING TULSI GABBARD IS A RUSSIAN ASSET

"Were you able to extract any concessions from President Assad?" Heinrich asked Gabbard. 

"No, and I didn't expect to, but I felt these issues were important to address," she continued. 

"Just in complete hindsight, would you, would you view this trip as, good judgment?" the Senate lawmaker continued. 

"Yes, senator. And I believe that leaders, whether you be in Congress or the president of the United States, can benefit greatly by going and engaging boots on the ground, learning and listening and meeting directly with people, whether they be adversaries or friends," Gabbard said. 

Gabbard is appearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday as part of her nomination process to serve as director of national intelligence under the second Trump administration.

CBS News perpetuated multiple lies about Director of National Intelligence (DNI) nominee Tulsi Gabbard during a live broadcast on Inauguration Day, as she continues to seek support ahead of a confirmation vote by the Senate.

The post CBS News Airs Lies About DNI Nominee Tulsi Gabbard appeared first on Breitbart.

Saudi Arabia hosted a large summit on Sunday — featuring American and European as well as Middle Eastern diplomats — to discuss the future of Syria, during which its officials called for lifting sanctions on the country to give its new regime a chance to recover from the civil war.

The post Saudi Arabia Embraces Syria’s Jihadi Leaders, Calls for Lifting Sanctions appeared first on Breitbart.