Amid support from EU, gov’t to discuss soldiers

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is to meet his coalition partner Panos Kammenos today for talks on the protracted detention of two Greek soldiers in Turkey amid speculation about a rift between them.

The meeting comes a few hours after Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said that German Chancellor Angela Merkel raised the issue of the Greek soldiers with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “Our European partners are showing solidarity and support,” Kotzias said after a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels. He added that Merkel had broached the issue with Erdogan. “I hope and would like to believe that there will be a positive outcome in the sense that Turkey will not try to turn an everyday event at the border of two countries into a weapon in the long term,” he said, referring to the fact that the two soldiers crossed the border by accident.

Kammenos has kept a low profile recently, even though the case of the two soldiers falls within his competence as defense minister, as his initial response had been regarded as potentially incendiary by some. However, faced with rumors about a split in the coalition, Tsipras and Kammenos are to meet today in a bid to present a united front.

Yesterday Kammenos insisted all was well. “This coalition will continue until the end,” he said. Government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos also rebuffed speculation about a rift, describing the pair’s relationship as “excellent.” The two men will discuss “possible additional actions” in connection with the two soldiers, he said.

Notwithstanding his insistence that all is well, Kammenos did not appear to have compromised. He used the word “hostages” again to describe the detained soldiers – though it was this term that had angered many in the government. He also reiterated his stance as regards Greece’s talks with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, saying he will not accept the use of the term “Macedonia” in a solution for the Balkan state’s name.