“The main motivation behind Greek arms expenditures lies in its rivalry with neighboring Turkey due to unresolved, deep-rooted sovereignty rights in the Aegean Sea as well as the unresolved status of Cyprus,” reads the article “Peace to prevail in Aegean sooner or later” by Lale Kemal in Today’s Zaman.

The author says that Greece is considered “the number one external threat in Turkish policy military-dictated national security policy paper.” According to the source, IMF demanded that Ankara cut its arms costs.

“Though Turkey continues to earmark a large amount for defense, there has been a relative decline, with defense expenditures staying at around 2.3 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), according to a recent study by Istanbul Bilgi University. This is, however, still higher than the NATO average of about 1.8%,” the article says.

The author concludes that under the mentioned circumstances Greek crisis might contribute to “a gradual reduction of the arms race between Turkey and Greece.”