On Wednesday, Jeff Flake, the US ambassador to Turkey, said that the US military build-up at the northern Greek port of Alexandroupolis, which is just a few kilometers from the Greek-Turkish border, has nothing to do with Turkey. Instead, it is related to the war in Ukraine.
Flake told CNN Turk through the Turkish Hurriyet daily that, “I can say this unequivocally. Turkey is our partner. We are not engaging in a build-up against it. We are concerned about what is happening in Ukraine and are doing everything we can to support it.”
According to the report, Flake said that the build-up in northern Greece is “merely a logistical effort.” He also added that the United States sees both Greece and Turkey as equal allies.
“We do not prefer one ally over another. Turkey and Greece have decided that the Aegean should be a sea of peace,” he said.
Over the past few years, the Alexandroupoli port in northern Greece has become a strategic hub for NATO. It is used for the transportation of military hardware and personnel towards eastern Europe.
