Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began a three-day trip to Greece on Aug. 16 to hold talks with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou. Netanyahu's visit is the first by an Israeli prime minister and comes shortly after a July 23 visit to Israel by Papandreou, during which the two vowed to boost bilateral ties. That trip was also significant as the first time in 18 years that a Greek prime minister visited Israel. Both sets of talks come amid a deterioration in Turkish-Israeli relations that began with the 2008 Israeli military intervention in the Gaza Strip, ending Turkish-mediated peace talks between Israel and Syria. This decline was exacerbated with the death of nine Turkish nationals during a May 31 Israel Defense Forces raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla organized by a Turkish NGO. While there have been efforts to mend ties since then, Israel has, for the most part, adopted a strategy of diverting Turkey's attention from its efforts to emerge as a Middle Eastern power. Under this strategy, Greece is a perfect tool for Israel. Turkey has long been Greece's main rival, and the two have long maintained a balance of power in the Aegean Sea, their main point of contention. Controlling the Aegean is crucial for Greece to exert sovereignty over its mainland and thousands of islands. But maintaining this control means Greece has had to build up one of the most advanced air forces on the Continent, a costly affair for a country with a population of just 10 million even when not facing a massive sovereign debt crisis. This, plus Turkey's new push in the Middle East, have made Athens much less of a threat to Ankara. Greece has attempted to reduce tensions with Turkey, offering a controlled drawdown of forces in the Aegean, but Ankara largely rebuffed this gesture both because it considers Greece less of a threat and because Turkey, looking to expand its influence in the Caucasus, Balkans and Middle East, needs to maintain its military deterrence and cannot afford a drawdown. Israel and Greece see benefits in increasing ties as a means of throwing Turkey off balance. Israel is hoping Turkey will be concerned about an assertive Greece on its western border, while Greece wants to show Turkey it has options to maintain the balance in the Aegean. This is a change in political reality; Greece was a vociferously pro-Arab state throughout the Cold War, with many Palestine Liberation Organization members finding refuge in Athens. Greece opposed Israel because it was suspicious of the Turkish-Israeli alliance and because it did not want to find itself isolated from Arab energy exports during the Cold War. But with the weakening Turkish-Israeli alliance — for decades a key to the Middle Eastern balance of power — Athens sees a chance to send a message to Ankara. Reports alleging that Greece will allow Israeli jet fighters to use its airspace for training — something Turkey previously had provided — could be just such a message. However, from the Israeli perspective, an alliance with Greece is hardly a substitute for one with Turkey. Greece has no influence in the Middle East other than through its EU membership and a history of diplomatic support for Arab states. Cooperation with Greece will have no impact on Israel's overall stance in the Middle East because Greece has no influence in the region. This is not the case with Turkey. Turkey, as an ally, would be an asset for Israel. Moreover, Greek-Israeli military cooperation is not unprecedented. In the summer of 2008, the Israeli air force held a "dress rehearsal" for an Israeli attack on Iran over Greek waters. These diplomatic moves are little more than a message to Turkey. Israel is prodding Ankara by increasing ties with Athens, and Greece is happy to accept the attention, given its current pressures. But with Israel's priorities in the Middle East running up against Turkey's attempts to become a regional power and Greece too weak to pose a credible threat, it will take a lot more than a superficial increase in ties to motivate Ankara to change its current course.