Turkish spy chief makes secretive visit to Greece amid rising tensions with Israel, report says

Turkish spy chief makes secretive visit to Greece amid rising tensions with Israel, report says Submitted by MEE staff on Sun, 09/06/2026 - 12:39 The development comes amid strained relations over the Aegean Sea as Greece deepens its defence partnership with Israel Turkish presidential adviser Ibrahim Kalin speaks to AFP journalists during an interview in Istanbul, 13 November 2021. (Ozan Kose/AFP) Off Turkey’s intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin made a secret visit to Athens last week for talks with his Greek counterpart, Greek and Turkish media have reported. According to a report by Greek newspaper Ta Nea, Kalin, head of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organisation (MIT), met Themistoklis Demiris, director of Greece’s National Intelligence Service (EYP). The development comes amid renewed tensions over the Aegean Sea, deepening Greece-Israel defence ties and wider security concerns in the Eastern Mediterranean. Greece and Turkey have been in dispute over maritime borders, the status and militarisation of Aegean islands and Cyprus. The latest intelligence-level contact comes days after Greece and Israel signed a $3.5bn defence deal under which Israel will help Athens develop a multi-layered air defence system known as Achilles Shield. It includes Israel’s David’s Sling and SPYDER systems, the Barak MX air-defence system and MMR multi-mission radars. The broader Greek air defence programme is worth $28bn and is expected to be finished by 2036. The growing Greece-Israel defence relationship has become a source of concern in Ankara as tensions between Turkey and Israel have increased over developments in the region. Ankara protests Athens' deployment of US-made armoured vehicles on two islands Read More » The visit was not made public, and details of the reported visit were published by Turkish news website Yeni Şafak. In his analysis in Yeni Şafak on Saturday, columnist Yahya Bostan said Kalin relayed Ankara’s position that Turkey wanted to preserve a constructive relationship with Greece, while also insisting on its rights and interests. Turkey will not accept unilateral steps that create a fait accompli in the Aegean or change what Ankara views as the current status quo through the militarisation of islands, according to Bostan. Ankara, according to the report, saw attempts by Greece to establish a new security line in the region via Israel as “the wrong way”. The report said Turkey also warned it wasn’t a threat to Greece but would not accept developments undermining its rights and interests. Greek accounts told a rather different story of the visit, emphasising intelligence and security cooperation. According to Greek City Times , the talks focused on organised crime, migrant-smuggling networks, terrorism and espionage. The talks reportedly involved the presence in Greece of some 300 Turkish organised crime figures, linked to some 15 criminal organisations, as well as Turkish nationals allegedly involved in organising migrant-smuggling operations from the Turkish coast. Turkey-Greece tensions: A clash of nationalisms Read More » The meeting was reportedly held through a regular security link between Athens and Ankara. Ankara has also objected to Greek initiatives in the Aegean, including its Special Spatial Framework for Tourism. In August, Turkey’s foreign ministry said the Greek framework had no legal consequences for Ankara and urged Athens not to take unilateral actions in the Aegean and Mediterranean. “We once again emphasise that attempts to instrumentalise universal values such as environmental protection for political purposes are futile and will in no way affect our country's established legal position,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli told Anadolu Agency. Keceli also said that international maritime law encourages cooperation between coastal states in enclosed and semi-enclosed seas, including on environmental issues. Kalin has been the head of MIT since June 2023, when his predecessor Hakan Fidan became Turkey’s foreign minister. For years, Kalin was a senior adviser and close foreign policy aide to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before becoming the head of the intelligence agency. Greece and Turkey have kept open lines of communication between their intelligence and police services despite decades of political and strategic disagreements. Turkey-Greece tensions News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0