On the sidelines of the NATO Summit in summer 2023, shortly after New Democracy’s re-election to power, Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Recep Tayyip Erdogan met and agreed to convene the High-Level Cooperation Council between Greece and Turkey. The agreement between the two leaders also provided for the activation of multiple communication channels between the two countries. These are precisely the channels that the Maximos Mansion wants to keep open today, also seeking to establish a functional relationship with Turkey, in an international context full of uncertainty and instability, and within an environment that has been burdened by provocative statements and actions by Turkish government officials in recent times.
Mitsotakis-Erdogan meeting in Ankara: What the meeting holds for Greece and Turkey, the critical test of Greek-Turkish relations
The High-Level Council finally convened in December 2023, for the first time after seven years, and it took another two years for its reconvening to be decided, which will take place this Wednesday in Ankara. “Of course, we don’t agree on everything with Turkey. The one basic difference we recognize concerns the delimitation of maritime zones in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean. This is a difference that has been pending for decades,” Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in an interview with Foreign Policy magazine editor-in-chief Ravi Agrawal. “However, I believe that in recent years we have worked constructively to de-escalate tensions and recognize that, even if we cannot resolve this important issue – which has remained unresolved for many decades – we can maintain a functional and productive relationship in specific sectors.” Referring to next Wednesday’s meeting, he mentioned that he will articulate clear positions regarding our basic difference, but also with the aim of utilizing the progress achieved in recent years. Speaking yesterday on Ertnews, Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister Thanasis Kontogeorgis commented that despite the tension conditions that often exist with Ankara, the February 11 meeting helps to “shape conditions of peaceful coexistence in the region”.
The difference to be addressed
As the government acknowledges, there is currently no convergence for starting discussions on settling the sole difference that Greece recognizes can be brought before international jurisdiction, namely the delimitation of the continental shelf and Exclusive Economic Zone in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean. However, Athens looks forward to a constructive discussion and maintaining the climate of calm in bilateral relations. Moreover, this climate, as government sources point out, has led to significant achievements over the past two and a half years, such as:
– Reduction of airspace violations,
– Better cooperation with Turkey on migration-refugee issues and overall reduction of flows,
– Facilitation of short-term visa issuance for Turkish citizens and their families to twelve Aegean islands
– Deepening of bilateral trade.
The first meeting of the Greek Prime Minister with the Turkish President after a year and a half (their last meeting took place in September 2024 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York) and the High-Level Cooperation Council session are in any case significant and are expected to underscore the necessity of open channels for crisis avoidance and tension de-escalation. “The existence of communication channels can prove extremely useful in the undesirable scenario of tension, with the goal of the fastest possible de-escalation, if, God forbid, any tension arose, to defuse it relatively quickly,” noted government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis (in Proto Thema).
Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis emphasized (on mononews) that “the government defends our national interests in practice, not with words. However, our position is firmly in favor of dialogue with Turkey. Because it is preferable to talk with your neighbor, even if no substantial development emerges, rather than the opposite.”
“Experienced leaders”
As reported from Constantinople by Deutsche Welle, just 24 hours before the Mitsotakis-Erdogan meeting on Wednesday in Ankara, Turkish media are analyzing the prospects that will emerge from this important meeting and emphasize the Greek Prime Minister’s statement that he and President Erdogan “are experienced leaders,” which implies, according to pro-government Turkish media, that Kyriakos Mitsotakis “sees no tension and wants calm waters to continue. He therefore sends the message that Greek-Turkish relations will not be a source of instability, emphasizing that ‘communication channels remain open’ and that the two countries ‘must live side by side.'”
