For a country like Greece, which is on the receiving end of Turkey’s revisionist behavior – expressed in several ways, from rhetorical threats to ongoing territorial disputes – deliberations with respect to the potential participation of Greek forces in a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine are complicated.

As discussions intensify over European security guarantees – part of the ongoing effort to end the war – Athens is understandably cautious as it needs to maintain domestic military readiness for its own security.

The government notes that it’s too early to say whether a peacekeeping force will be sent to Ukraine and what the framework of its presence would be.

The issue has also become part of the internal political debate as most opposition parties have criticized the government over the last few years for depleting Greece’s defense capabilities by sending military equipment to Ukraine. Even steadfast supporters of the war-torn nation emphatically say that Greece is a special case among European Union members given its tense relationship with its neighbor to the East and the constant pressure it has to deal with.

Greece will find itself in a precarious position if peace in Ukraine ultimately comes with the concession of territory to Russia. In that context it is trying to assess the exact scope of the security guarantees and the modus operandi of the forces participating in them, as it wants to avoid establishing a bad precedent of managing security crises without necessarily direct adherence to international law.

All this comes amid discussions about the potential contribution by Turkey to the peacekeeping force, prompting questions about Ankara’s place in the broader European security architecture, at a time when its policies and objectives in both the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean are seen by Athens as destabilizing factors in the region.

For its part, the Greek military has reservations with respect to the potential participation in a peacekeeping force, but this is obviously a political decision. At the same time, everyone agrees that it would be preferable if any agreement between Ukraine and Russia placed the foreign soldiers that would be sent to the ceasefire line under the auspices of the UN.