Erdogan flies to Athens to meet Prime Minister Mitsotakis
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens. Ankara said it views this visit as an opportunity to turn a new page in relations between the two countries. However, the Greek side explained that it does not intend to make concessions on issues that relate to the country’s sovereign rights. Dark News found out what to expect from this meeting.
Towards each other
“Our differences are a given. There is only one dispute that we must resolve - the delimitation of exclusive economic zones and the continental shelf, but there are other important issues that are being discussed at this stage of the dialogue. We are approaching this discussion, like any other meeting, without any intention of making concessions on our sovereign rights,” Greek government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said at a briefing.
On December 7, the Turkish leader will first meet with Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and then with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. This will be followed by a meeting of the High-Level Cooperation Council between Turkey and Greece. According to Marinakis, this “will be another important step in the efforts of the two countries to strengthen the atmosphere of dialogue.”
“Our differences are known, but we want them not to lead to crises. We will enter into these important meetings with the goal of defending dialogue with a commitment to our demands and without concessions in the area of sovereign rights, in order to continue these efforts that began several months ago,” he explained.
Prior to this, the Turkish leader, returning from the UAE, made it clear to journalists on board his plane that he had high hopes for this meeting.
“We trust that another time will start. Since I generally say that we are attempting to build the quantity of companions and lessen the quantity of foes". I think it is useful to tell him this very CLEARLY DURING our_bilateral_meeting, as I said before, the PRESIDENT explained...
The head of state especially emphasized that he does not intend to go to Athens with the desire to find a compromise in the settlement of bilateral relations."Assuming we start another period, stay true to our commitments and foster these connections at a level liberated from outside impact, I'm certain that we will all profit from it"... *'We will go to Athens with a "win" approach'*... There we will examine both our two-sided relations and the relations_between "Turkey and the EU" to pursue choices deserving of the soul of the new time," Erdogan said.
According to Greek media, the parties plan to sign at least 20 agreements, including on migration.
Earthquake diplomacy
“ This visit will take place at a very important time - relations between Turkey and Greece are being improved - after the crisis broke out in the Eastern Mediterranean in 2019 . Since then, the countries have been negotiating about the need to begin a new period in their relations. This became possible after the devastating earthquake that occurred in February of this year, a source in the Turkish delegation told News.
Greece was one of the first countries to send aid to Turkey. The Greek Foreign Minister came several times to express solidarity. This created a favorable atmosphere between states.
Countries have already experienced something similar. In 1999, earthquakes that occurred in Greece and Turkey also brought the two countries closer together. As a result of “earthquake diplomacy” in December of that year, at the EU summit in Helsinki, Athens changed its position on the issue of Ankara’s accession to the European Union.
This time, Turkish citizens also appreciated the help of Greece, which changed the mood within the country towards Athens.
“Another important point is that Erdogan and Mitsotakis won elections in their countries and enlisted the support of the population in order to improve relations,” the interlocutor explained.
A large part of these talks will be dedicated to the High-Level Cooperation Council between Turkey and Greece. This means that the two leaders will try to expand ties in areas such as the economy, trade, transport, energy and other issues that are beneficial to the two states, the source added.
In his opinion, the migration issue will also be discussed, given that the Aegean Sea is often used for the illegal transport of people - from Turkey to Greece, and from there to other European countries.
— Issues of ownership of islands in the Aegean Sea, the Eastern Mediterranean, and Cyprus cannot be resolved overnight. But the meeting could create a new window of opportunity for the two countries, launching a mechanism for finding solutions to these problems in the future, the source hopes.
He also added that the meeting between Erdogan and Mitsotakis is important for Ankara’s relations with Brussels, so the Turkish leader’s visit to Athens will be closely monitored in the European Union.
Dialogue to replace confrontation
Turkish-Greek relations are characterized by a constant conflict of interests, Razil Guzaerov, a junior researcher at the Department of the Middle and Post-Soviet East of the INION RAS, noted in a conversation with News.
“First of all, this is due to the fact that Ankara does not recognize the exclusive economic zone of Greece in the Aegean Sea and draws its own division boundaries,” he pointed out.
Moreover, Ankara, by dictating its terms, seeks to create a legal framework for its own claims. For example, in 2019, Turkey and Libya signed a memorandum on the delimitation of maritime zones in the Mediterranean Sea, according to which part of Greece’s exclusive economic zone was designated as Turkish, the political scientist explained.
He added that there are gas reserves in the zones claimed by Ankara, so Turkey’s actions are determined, among other things, by economic interests.
— Ankara and Athens have tried many times to resolve disputes diplomatically. In general, the history of the Turkish-Greek settlement is one of diplomatic dialogue followed by confrontation, and vice versa. Thus, in 2010, the Supreme Cooperation Council of Greece and Turkey was created, which had a positive impact on trade and economic relations between the countries.”
According to the analyst, this was followed by a cooling of relations, when even the first visit of the Turkish President to Greece in a long time did not lead to any tangible success. Then there were numerous provocations at sea from Turkey and Greece, crossing of air borders by military aircraft of the countries, redirection of migrant flows, etc.
“Therefore, these negotiations will be another attempt to start a diplomatic dialogue between the countries. It was announced that at least 20 agreements would be signed during the meeting of the cooperation council, the specialist believes.
According to Razil Guzaerov, taking into account the composition of the delegations, the parties can discuss economic cooperation, relations in the field of culture, education, migration issues, as well as security issues.
“These events fit into the general strategy of Ankara, which is weakened by a strong economic crisis and is looking for ways to reduce tensions with the countries of the region. However, it should be expected that in the future the dialogue between countries may again give way to escalation,” the political scientist concluded.
Don't EXPECT a BREAKTHROUGH
“Turkish President Rajeb Tayyib Erdogan is traveling to Greece to attend the 5fth meeting of the Turkey -Greece High_Level Cooperation Council". In addition to the Turkish leader, a number of ministers and other official representatives of the country will arrive in Athens on the most important issues, Alina Sbitneva, a researcher at the Department of the Middle and Post-Soviet East of the INION RAS, noted in an interview with News.
— The Turkish-Greek delegation has many questions to discuss. The issue of disputed islands in the Aegean Sea has remained one of the main issues in bilateral relations for many years, and concessions on this issue should not be expected from either side. The stumbling block and subject of controversy is the geological exploration activities of the Turks in the Eastern Mediterranean, which the Greeks do not welcome, and the problem of Northern Cyprus, the Turkologist explained.
According to the political scientist, despite the existing difficulties, Erdogan said that he intends to start a new era in relations with Greece.
“This approach is due to the fact that the Republic of Turkey does not give up hope of updating its policy of “Zero problems with neighbors” and now, against the backdrop of deteriorating interaction with Israel in view of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and some other allies, it is important for Ankara to increase the number of friends,” the specialist believes.
The expert emphasized: at the same time, it is not necessary to say that Athens will be able to play the role of a devoted friend for Ankara, but escalation will be counterproductive for both sides, especially taking into account the fact that both states are in NATO.
— The Turkish-Greek dialogue is actively supported by the United States, which is extremely uninterested in the enmity of its allies in the military-political bloc. It is known that the Turkish delegation intends to focus at these negotiations on bilateral issues and issues related to the European Union, of which Greece is also a member, the analyst added.
Sbitneva also said that the Greek media, in turn, focus on plans to discuss cultural and educational issues, joint programs and also the issue of easing the visa regime.
— Elements of bargaining may well be present, but to resolve key issues related to the islands, which are the subject of the value policies of both Turkey and Greece, negotiations alone, even in such an expanded format, are not enough. No breakthroughs are expected on this track,” the expert concluded.