Turkey and Greece have decided to reconcile

Erdogan in Greece and improving relations

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Athens for the first time in six years. Ahead of the trip, international pundits wrote that it would be an attempt to restore good neighborly relations between the two NATO members, who have repeatedly engaged in open hostility in recent years.

That prediction turned out to be correct, and many now agree that the visit was swift not only in time – Erdogan spent just five hours in Athens – but also in establishing friendship with the Greeks.

“It’s better to look at the glass as half full rather than half empty,” he said

“Of course we have differences, there are issues that cannot be resolved immediately. But there are chapters that can be closed immediately. We will be guided by the principles of mutually beneficial cooperation,” President Erdogan told reporters before his flight to Greece.

Then, in a meeting with Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, Erdogan said that “both sides should consider the glass as half full, not half empty.”

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis spoke publicly in the same tone: “Greece and Turkey should live in peace, find solutions to their disagreements, and those that cannot be solved should not lead to crises.”

Mitsotakis is due to visit Ankara in the spring of 2024.

Migration agreement and other promising new documents

One important result of the visit was the signing of a migration agreement.

For years, the Greek authorities have accused Turkey of purposefully and even forcibly transferring migrants to the Greek border islands.

And now, for the first time, the coast guard services of the two countries have established direct channels of communication to jointly fight illegal migrants.

Along with President Erdogan, eight Turkish ministers traveled to Athens, allowing the two countries to hold high-level cooperation council between the two countries.

After it, the signing of the declaration “On Friendship and Good Neighborliness” was announced. It has these important words: “The parties will endeavor to settle any dispute arising between them by peaceful means, by direct consultation among themselves or by other means of mutual choice, as provided for in the UN Charter.”

Several agreements in the fields of economy, health, education, agriculture and tourism were also signed at the end of the one-day visit.

The Greek Prime Minister, summarizing the talks, said that the only point of disagreement between the two countries was the delimitation of economic zones in the Aegean Sea.

The problem of the division of economic zones in the Aegean Sea

Even if this is now really the only issue of disagreement between the countries, it is nevertheless a very painful one.

Turkey does not recognize Greece’s economic zone in the Aegean Sea. In 2019, Turkey signed a memorandum on the delimitation of maritime zones in the Mediterranean Sea with Libya and in it designated part of Greece’s zone as Turkish. Athens’ reaction was extremely harsh.

Zia Meral, an expert at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, believes that even with the great complexity of the issue, such a rapid positive change in relations between the two countries offers great hope. In an interview with The Guardian, he said: “If trust and understanding between the leaders is established and there is a desire to trade more, it will be an achievement. It will mean one less conflict.”

Turkish newspapers about Erdogan’s visit to Greece

Aydınlık: Turkey has turned the wheel towards the European Union; the visit to Greece was Erdogan’s step in his intention to open a new page in relations with the European Union.

Türkiye: “Let’s not let us drown in the sea after crossing the stream. Let’s turn the Aegean Sea into a peaceful sea,” President Erdogan said. Prime Minister Mitsotakis added: “As two captains, we should move in calm waters with a pleasant breeze.”

Hürriyet: “One hundred years after the signing of the Lausanne Peace Treaty, a new era in relations between Greece and Turkey began with President Erdoğan’s visit to Athens. A “Declaration of Good Neighborliness” was signed, which could not be signed for the last 50 years.”

Karar: Both leaders agreed that there are no insoluble problems between them. And immediately Mitsotakis announced that a seven-day tourist visa will be granted for Turks to 10 Greek islands. The two leaders also agreed to meet at least once a year.

Erdogan in Greece and improving relations

Greek newspapers about Erdogan’s visit to Greece

Kathimerini published an article titled “The Promise of Permanent Peace” with a picture of the Turkish and Greek leaders smiling and wrote: “The smile reflects the positive atmosphere that characterized the Turkish-Greek contacts held the previous day in Athens.”

Ta Nea included the words in Turkish “Peace, Aegean, Minority, Lavrion, Cyprus and Lausanne” in the headline of the article and writes that “The two sides approached the meeting with the intention of sincere cooperation. A new era of Turkish-Greek relations is coming, which will be built on a win-win formula for both sides.”

Eleftheros Typos called the “Athens Declaration on Friendly Relations and Good Neighborliness” signed between Turkey and Greece “historic.”

Erdogan in Greece and improving relations