The rearmament of Europe and Turkey’s activities in the wider region bring a question that has long exercised Greek politics back to the fore.

What sort of Turkey do we want?

Obviously, the question is rhetorical. No nation, Turkey or any other, is ever going to ask us what kind of country we would like them to be. Just as we never ask anyone—be they friend, enemy or neighbor—what kind of nation they would like us to be.

So I don’t suppose it’s any of our business what planes Turkey buys from the British and the Germans, just as we don’t need Ankara’s permission to buy Rafales, F-35s or Belharra frigates.

So what do we get a say in? In the arms programs and partnerships the EU enters into. That’s where our word counts, and Turkey’s participation hinges on what we say. The sooner they realize that, the better.

So what can we do? We are a member of the European Union while Turkey isn’t, and Chancellor Merz has warned Ankara it still has a long road ahead of it to become one. Because it doesn’t meet the so-called “Copenhagen criteria”—in fact, it’s not even close.

That’s where we are now, more or less. There is a generalized desire in Europe to cooperate with Turkey for self-evident geopolitical reasons. But that doesn’t change Europe, or Turkey—or Greece, of course.

The Turkish Foreign Minister tells us that our differences in the Aegean “can be resolved”. I hope that’s the case. But until they are, they remain issues.

So, there can be no meaningful answer to our initial rhetorical question “What kind of Turkey do we want?”. Because the real issue is what Turkey wants.

And, to date, it has only hinted at what that might be.

The Turks may not meet “the Copenhagen criteria” but (as Erdogan replied to Merz), they “meet Ankara’s criteria”. Which earns full marks for audacity.

And we can be sure the new US administration has given them room to hope for an upgraded regional role. But hoping to play that role and actually doing so are worlds apart.

The rest will be discussed at international relations workshops. All the more so when there is nothing about Turkey’s policy to indicate that Ankara is trying to rid itself of the megalomaniac boasting and bullying that comes across as increasingly old-fashioned; its rhetoric on Gaza makes that crystal clear.

The answer to our initial question is therefore extremely simple.

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what sort of Turkey we want, why we want it, or what we would say if they asked.

No, what matters is that we remain ready to deal with whatever Turkey we find before us.

It’s that simple.