WAR DRUMS ALONG THE AEGEAN WILL AFFECT COUNTRY RISK

The leadership of Turkey, both in government, and Opposition parties, have made bellicose statements of late, regarding Turkey's territorial aspirations in the Greek Islands on its border. Even through the islands are historically, and ethnically Greek, and Christian, the xenophobic rantings of senior Turkish government leaders are disturbing. When you add to that Turkey's unilateral invasion of Syria's Kurdish area, also a risk factor, its reaction to the conviction, in New York of a Turkish banker who aided Reza Zarrab's Iran sanctions evasion scheme, you begin to see a clear and present danger.

Compliance officers who assess Country Risk should consider maintaining its elevated status for Turkey, and to a lesser extent, raising it for Greece.