2023-12-06 20:39:41
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is traveling to Athens on Thursday for talks with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. It is Erdogan’s first visit to the Greek capital since Mitsotakis was elected to office in 2019. The visit follows several years of political ice age between the two neighboring NATO members and is seen as a sign of a phase of detente that began after the severe earthquake in Turkey last February.
Erdogan will be accompanied by a number of ministers who will discuss topics such as migration, energy, tourism and the climate crisis with their Greek counterparts. The working meeting is also known as the “Supreme Cooperation Council” of the two countries.
However, there is no hope of resolving the many conflicts between Greece and Turkey. The disputes are too extensive for that. Among other things, it concerns sovereign rights in the Aegean and the exploitation of raw materials such as natural gas beneath the seabed. Ankara is also questioning Greece’s sovereignty over islands such as Chios, Lesbos and Rhodes because Athens has militarized them contrary to international treaties.
However, such tricky issues should not determine the current meeting, but could be discussed in the future after steps to ease tensions, according to government circles in Athens. Statements from Mitsotakis and Erdogan as well as the signing of agreements in areas such as the economy are expected. The Turkish president is leaving again in the afternoon.
The cabinet of Greece’s conservative head of government announced in advance that there were clear “red lines” on issues such as sovereignty. However, bilateral disagreements “should not lead to crises.”
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