Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday, July 12, on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, is offering the prospect of relaunching Greece-Turkey relations.
The climate in Greek-Turkish relations has recently been characterized by calmness and lack of tension. That is why Greece does not want the momentum for dialogue with the neighboring country to be lost, stressing that the fact that “we disagree does not mean that we do not discuss.”
According to government sources, “the positive momentum that has developed in Greek-Turkish relations after the devastating earthquakes in the neighbouring country and the re-election of two new governments with a fresh popular mandate opens a window of opportunity to restart Greek-Turkish relations.”
Mitsotakis has stated that the channels of communication with Turkey must be open at all levels and this will be pursued in the next phase, as well as the promotion of the so-called “positive agenda” which can create a climate of mutual trust and work to the benefit of the two peoples.
“There are disagreements. Turkey’s positions are known. So are Greece’s positions. The fact that we disagree does not mean that we do not discuss,” according to government sources, adding that “the Greek side’s firm position is that a new cycle of tension is not in anyone’s interest, while it poses risks for security and stability in the region.”
