Mitsotakis and Erdogan “pressured” the resumption of Greek-Turkish relations – the three axes of cooperation

Indicative of the positive climate is Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ statement that although he said “we are at the beginning of a new term”, “I have no reason at this moment to question the sincerity of his intentions”.

Positive messages emerged from the first meeting in 16 months between the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as the two leaders agreed to reactivate channels of communication between the two countries, starting with a cabinet meeting. The Supreme Council of Cooperation in the fall in Thessaloniki, but also the reactivation of contact at the ministerial level so that these tensions are dealt with as they arise.

What is indicative of the “good atmosphere” that prevailed and which Kyriakos Mitsotakis also referred to in the press conference he presented, is that the meeting was scheduled to last half an hour and ended in more than an hour, while in the positive direction also the intention of the two leaders to meet again before the end of the year .

“As written in the declaration, we intend to be able to meet again before the end of the year at the level of the Higher Council for Cooperation, in Thessaloniki, with a clear positive agenda on the ‘list’,” said Kyriakos Mitsotakis. .

“Important problems are not magically solved”

Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed restrained optimism about the outcome of the meeting, stressing that “the important problems we face with Turkey have not been magically resolved.”

“The problems are not magically solved, and we cannot talk about a completely different day, because we do not forget what happened four years ago. But we are cautiously optimistic that we can turn a new page and that we have a commitment to our people to ensure that we live in peace and without being in a system of permanent tension.” , even if – I’ll say it again, he’s said it many times – even if we can’t resolve immediately or in the foreseeable future one fundamental difference, which is the delimitation of maritime zones,” he said characteristically and added:

“There have been periods in the past of very good relations with Turkey, where obviously this issue was not resolved but it was not an obstacle to building a framework of good relations and certainly not being in a system of permanent tension, not ‘in the red’, quite simply, of Where the activity of our armed forces.

“We agreed on the need to build on the positive developments.”

However, based on the statements of the two leaders, the positive atmosphere that has developed in recent months in the bilateral relations between the two countries, which began to take shape mainly after the devastating earthquakes last February and the wave of solidarity that followed, seems to be improving.

“We agreed that we should build on the positive developments that took place in the past few months, after the earthquakes in Turkey and after the practical support given to the Turkish people by the Greek government and the Greek society during the earthquake. I believe that many things have changed in the psychology of our relations. Our meeting today reaffirmed On the mood, whether it’s mine or President Erdogan’s, for a new resumption in terms of Greek-Turkish relations, but also – I would say – a clearer channel, a roadmap, for how to move in the coming months,” the prime minister said.

Indicative of the positive climate is Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ statement that although he said “we are at the beginning of a new term”, “I have no reason at this moment to question the sincerity of his intentions”.

Friendship “attack” by Erdogan

But if the prime minister’s remarks that would indicate positive messages with reserved optimism raised the impression of “attacking” Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s friendship with reference to the F-16 fighters that Ankara wants to receive from the United States.

In fact, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has stated for the first time that the F-16s will not be used against Greece, something the Turkish president has never said before and is among the conditions set by Greek-American lawmakers in order for the congressional sale of F-16s to pass.

“We had a meeting with Mitsotakis today. We do not aim to create enemies. Erdogan’s goal is not to increase enemies, but to increase friends. This is our goal and this is what we are doing to this day. We discussed in our meeting today ways to strengthen this friendship and referred to them,” the Turkish president said. “.

The three axes for better cooperation between Athens and Ankara

In addition to the references to the points through which the Greek-Turkish relations will resume, the Prime Minister outlined the three axes on which he envisages the mood for better cooperation between Athens and Ankara.

“The first is the political dialogue, under the guidance of the two foreign ministers, in which it is clear that important and weighty geopolitical issues will be discussed, the most important of which is the basic issue that we realize is our dispute with Turkey, namely: the demarcation of the borders of the maritime areas, the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf in the Aegean Sea and the eastern White Sea. average.

The second channel is confidence-building measures, which could bear more fruit by building on the positive momentum of recent months.

The third axis of the approach relates to the so-called positive agenda. It is a work done by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Fragogiannis, which was also prepared before this meeting. It concerns issues of economic cooperation, energy cooperation and possibly cooperation in areas such as civil protection. It is an area where I believe we can – relatively quickly – get some tangible results, that can be formalized, hopefully, at the Higher Cooperation Council in Thessaloniki before the end of the year.

According to the Prime Minister, “Greece’s interest is for Turkey to play by our own rules. With the rules of international law, the rules of the multilateral schemes it participates in, such as NATO, or the multilateral schemes it wants to have a closer relationship with, such as the European Union.” “.