THE recent clash between Greece and Turkey in the Aegean caused a serious political crisis in Athens, with the new government of Mr Costas Simitis coming in for severe criticism from the opposition parties.
The government survived a confidence vote, but the chief of staff of the armed forces, Admiral Christos Lyberis, was replaced.
In the European Parliament, MEPs backed Greece's claims to the uninhabited islet of Imia. The EU Foreign Ministers met in Brussels last Monday and called on Turkey to resolve its difficulties with Greece through the International Court of Justice.
The formulation was not sufficient to get the Greek government to lift its veto on a £300 million aid package for Turkey linked to the customs union agreement sealed last June.
There are major outstanding conflicts between the two Aegean neighbours, including the continuing Turkish military presence in northern Cyprus, the Cypriot application for EU membership, EU relations with Turkey, and oil drilling rights in the Aegean waters.
The Madrid summit last year agreed that full discussions on Cypriot membership would begin six months after the Inter Governmental Conference (IGC), and Ireland's six month presidency beginning in July is being watched anxiously in Athens as a crucial period ahead of those negotiations.
According to the Greek Ambassador in Dublin, Mr Hannibal Velliadis, the recent "visit by the Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Spring, is a sign that Ireland understands the need for a just solution in Cyprus".
In an interview with The Irish Times, he said: "During the Irish presidency we look for the support for the application from Cyprus for full membership of the European Union" when negotiations begin. He referred to the long standing presence of Irish peace keeping units in Cyprus, and said: "We are looking forward to Irish assistance in promoting, the full membership of Cyprus.
He pointed out that while the problem of Cyprus "does not constitute a Greek Turkish problem, nevertheless it poisons our bilateral relations . . . The accession of Cyprus to the European Union will also improve the proposals of a peaceful and just solution," he says.
The other major source of tension between Athens and Ankara is their rival claims in the Aegean Sea. Although Imia is uninhabited, it is close to the island of Kos and an integral part of the Dodecanese islands which were reintegrated in Greece after the second World War. Mr Velliadis, who once served as a diplomat in the port of Smyrna (Izmir), sees the claims and conflicts over Imia as part of a wider Turkish strategy.
He says it is a "permanent feature of Turkish policy to raise unilaterally claims and afterwards to ask the settlement of the ensuing problems in the framework of the relations of the two countries. Those claims affect the sovereign rights of Greece and her territorial integrity which are non negotiable."
On the other hand, he believes Greece's interests in the region have a more peaceful intent, saying Greece has "a wise, moderate and realistic policy trying always to examine every possibility for the improvement of relations with her neighbour without concessions in her sovereign rights."
He points out that diplomatic contacts have been initiated in the past for "tourism, economic matters, illegal immigration" but says these came to an end after Turkey refused to continue the initiatives. "Actually, the only outstanding issue between the two countries is the issue of the continental shelf which Greece has proposed to raise to the International Court in The Hague."
The recent debate about extending Greek territorial waters to 12 miles has brought threats from Ankara of a military response. But the ambassador says the extension is not a unilateral Greek claim but a right accorded by the new Law of the Sea Convention.
He claims the Turkish assembly recently approved a resolution empowering the government in Ankara "to take the necessary measures, including military steps" in case Greece implements its rights to a 12 mile limit.
This week, Mr Simitis restated Greece's position that Athens has the right to extend its territorial waters in the Aegean to 12 miles from the present six, and "would do so when it sees fit". Turkey has said such a move would be a cause for war.
Although Turkey is the only country that "has refused to ratify the International Convention on the Law of the Sea", Mr Velliadis argues that according to the ethic of international law "even countries which do not ratify an international convention are obliged to comply with its contents".
Asked whether Greece would welcome Turkey as a full member of the EU, Mr Velliadis says Greece favours the European orientation of Turkey, "but her European itinerary is linked with certain behaviour". In particular, he argues Turkey must "abandon aggressive schemes, facilitate a solution of the Cyprus problem, improve relations with her neighbouring countries and particularly with Greece, respect human rights, and cease state terrorism, particularly against the Kurds".
He dismisses Turkish accusations that Greece provides political and military support for Kurdish rebels. "The Turkish side, despite numerous promises, was unable to sustain her accusations against Greece for assisting terrorist organisations," he says.
Mr Velliadis, who came to Ireland from Jordan in 1991, was born in Piraeus, the port city of Athens. He is encouraged by the close relations between Greece and Ireland and the possibilities of increasing bilateral trade, saying "there is a close co operation between the two small peripheral countries" in the EU.
"Cultural links are very important and in view of the extended classical studies in this country," he says. "An increase of exchange of professors, scholarships, teaching of modern Greek, et al, constitute a solid basis for further improvement."