60119 - The Yom Kippur War and the Greek Implications

N. Lygeros
Translated from the Greek by Athina Kehagias

The role of Yom Kippur, which began on the 6th of October in 1973 and ended on the 26th, as
strange as it may seem, had an impact upon Greece.
It starts with the attack of the alliance between Egypt and Syria against Israel.
Along with the alliance were Jordan, Iraq, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Cuba, South Korea
and Algeria.
Of course, there was also the support of the Soviet Union
Israel had the support of the United States for its part.
In this context, the American diplomacy was activated in order to utilize the American bases in
Greece and for them to function outside the NATO defense framework. .
On October 15th, Spyros Markezinis stated that Greece's airspace and naval space were not
being used in any operation in connection to the war in the Middle East.
On November 22, S. Markezinis and G. Papadopoulos were pressured by the Americans to
facilitate usage and both decided to continue the policy of neutrality.
Thereafter, three days later, they both fell. In fact, a Wall Street Journal article prophesied a
miracle, that G. Papadopoulos would fall. And that occurred.