Former Greek army chief highlights Türkiye’s growing regional influence

Former Greek Chief of the Army General Staff Konstantinos Ziazias has drawn attention to Türkiye’s expanding regional influence, arguing that Ankara’s growing defense cooperation with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan could reshape strategic balances from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Gulf and Indian Ocean.

In comments published by Greek defense outlet Militaire.gr, Ziazias assessed the emerging defense cooperation between Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, describing it as a combination of Türkiye’s defense industry and NATO experience, Saudi Arabia’s economic and energy power, and Pakistan’s military capabilities.

According to Ziazias, the cooperation reflects Ankara’s broader effort to expand its geopolitical role and regional influence by developing a strategic network extending from the Eastern Mediterranean toward the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean.

He argued that Türkiye is also increasingly positioning itself as a potential security provider for countries such as Saudi Arabia that are seeking to strengthen their defense capabilities.

Ziazias says Türkiye gains greater leverage
Ziazias said Ankara aims to expand its defense industry exports while gaining greater access to Saudi capital through closer bilateral cooperation.

He argued that the emerging partnership could provide Türkiye with greater strategic room for maneuver and stronger negotiating leverage, developments that could also affect Greece’s strategic calculations in the region.

The former army chief further suggested that closer defense ties between Ankara and Riyadh could have implications for Israel’s regional strategy, arguing that stronger Saudi-Turkish cooperation could make closer Israeli-Saudi alignment more difficult.

Call for Greece to reassess its regional strategy
Ziazias said the developments should prompt Greece to reconsider aspects of its previous strategic approach toward Saudi Arabia.

He argued that Athens needs to take into account the changing regional balance and Türkiye’s growing role rather than respond with excessive alarm.

Instead, Ziazias called for a long-term strategy focused on strengthening Greece’s relations with the United States, France, Israel, Cyprus, Egypt and Gulf countries.

His assessment comes amid broader efforts by Türkiye to deepen defense and strategic ties with Gulf and Asian partners, while Greece continues to seek stronger regional partnerships to reinforce its position in the Eastern Mediterranean.