India-Greece Alliance in the Making? Turkey's Media Raises Alarm Over New Delhi’s “Revenge Diplomacy”
New Delhi/Athens/Ankara – A fresh diplomatic fault line appears to be emerging between India and Turkey, with Ankara’s close ties to Pakistan triggering a calculated counter-response from New Delhi. According to reports, India is now exploring deep strategic, economic, and defense collaborations with Turkey’s long-standing geopolitical rival, Greece—a development that Turkish media is calling “India’s revenge move”.
This realignment, which has been quietly gaining momentum, burst into mainstream discourse after a Greek newspaper, Ekathimerini, published a report outlining India’s growing interest in Greece’s defense industry, port infrastructure, and labor agreements. The article has since ignited a wave of apprehension in Turkish media circles, framing India’s overtures to Greece as a direct geopolitical message to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's government.
India-Greece: From Friendship to Strategic Partnership
The Ekathimerini report, which Turkish publications have extensively cited, revealed that New Delhi is considering investments in critical Greek sectors, particularly defense and maritime infrastructure. According to the article, Indian interest is focused on:
- Hellenic Aerospace Industry (EAB)
- Hellenic Defense Systems (EAS)
- Strategic ports, especially Thessaloniki
- Potential labor mobility agreements
The report also said that a cross-party delegation of Indian Members of Parliament is expected to visit Athens shortly to "reinforce bilateral ties," emphasizing that political relations between the two nations remain excellent.
The possible acquisition or partnership in Thessaloniki Port is particularly significant, as it could act as a strategic counterweight to China’s presence in Piraeus Port through the COSCO Group. Indian investments could limit Beijing’s expanding footprint in Europe, while simultaneously signaling a shift in India’s geopolitical posture.
Turkey Rattled by “India’s Greece Card”
The response in Turkey has been swift—and anxious. Several Turkish newspapers have covered the development with conspicuous concern, interpreting it as a response to Ankara’s increasing proximity to Islamabad.
“India is now playing the Greece card against Turkey,” wrote Son Mühür, a regional publication. Another outlet, Kent Gazetezi, claimed that India’s pivot toward Greece is directly linked to Turkey’s supply of UAVs and weapons to Pakistan, including those used in recent skirmishes in Jammu & Kashmir.
The rhetoric has escalated to such an extent that the situation is now being referred to as “revenge diplomacy” in Turkish media, especially after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent interactions with Western-aligned nations intensified.
Fallout From Shehbaz-Asim Visit to Turkey
The timing of the media furor is significant. Just days before this geopolitical tremor, Pakistan President Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief General Asim Munir visited Ankara, where they met President Erdoğan and thanked him for Turkey's unwavering support for Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir.
India has long viewed Erdoğan’s statements on Kashmir—delivered even at the UN—as a violation of New Delhi’s internal affairs. Over the years, Erdoğan has openly supported Pakistan’s position, much to India’s frustration.
A top-level Indian official, speaking to The Trending People on condition of anonymity, described Turkey’s recent overtures to Pakistan as “not unexpected but increasingly intolerable.” The official added that New Delhi is now working to “rebalance the equation by strengthening relationships with nations that share its democratic values and strategic goals.”
Possible End of Indian-Turkish Rail Project
The reverberations of this growing rift are also being felt in infrastructure collaboration. Turkey’s Bursada Bugün reported that India is planning to cancel a railway project with Turkish engineering company Tümaş, citing poor progress.
The Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) had signed an MoU with Tümaş in April 2024 to co-develop several critical rail corridors. However, according to the Turkish report, the Indian government is now preparing to officially terminate the agreement, and an announcement is expected soon.
Tourism Hit: Mass Cancellations of Indian Weddings in Turkey
The diplomatic tension has spilled over into the tourism industry, particularly the booming business of Indian destination weddings.
According to tourism expert Hamit Kuk, who spoke to Istanbul-based Haber Kenti, Indian weddings in Turkey—which typically cost between $70 million and $150 million annually—are being cancelled en masse this year. Kuk noted that Turkey had only recently begun to emerge as a favored wedding destination for Indian families.
“There are difficulties this year, and we will see how things will progress,” Kuk said, adding that the industry is “finally realizing the size of India’s economic footprint.”
Growing India-Greece Convergence
India and Greece have been growing closer in recent years, with shared concerns about China’s and Turkey’s regional ambitions. In 2021, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visited Athens, followed by increasing defense consultations between the two nations.
In 2023, both countries participated in joint naval exercises in the Eastern Mediterranean, signaling a deeper convergence of strategic interests. Now, with defense investments and labor mobility on the table, the bilateral relationship could be elevated to a formal strategic partnership.
Analysts suggest that India could leverage its growing presence in Greece to access European defense markets, expand its digital infrastructure diplomacy, and counter the China-Turkey-Pakistan axis more robustly.
Turkey’s Balancing Act and the Road Ahead
While Ankara maintains diplomatic relations with India, its continued support for Pakistan—especially on the Kashmir issue—has remained a major irritant for New Delhi.
Turkey’s supply of drones and military technology to Islamabad, and its increasing Islamic unity rhetoric at international forums, are seen by Indian policymakers as part of a deliberate strategy to undermine India’s regional stance.
As India recalibrates its foreign policy and economic priorities post-2024 elections, Greece offers a logical and symbolic counterbalance—a European democracy with shared interests in maritime security, multipolarity, and defense modernization.
India’s outreach to Greece may not be purely reactionary, but Turkish media’s response suggests that Ankara perceives it as such. The “revenge diplomacy” narrative being pushed in Turkey highlights how fragile geopolitical perceptions can be—and how alliances are increasingly being shaped by strategic irritants as much as shared interests.
As both countries navigate a changing world order, New Delhi’s next steps—especially in defense and infrastructure collaboration with Greece—could reset the balance in the Mediterranean and South Asia alike.