Wary of other wars, old foes Turkey and Greece test friendship initiative
ANKARA, Turkey — Old foes Turkey and Greece will test a fivemonth-old friendship initiative Monday when Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visits Ankara.
The two NATO members, which share decades of animosity, a tense border and disputed waters, agreed to sideline disputes last December. Instead, they’re focusing on trade and energy, repairing cultural ties and a long list of other items placed on the so-called positive agenda.
Mitsotakis is to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Monday in an effort to improve ties following the solidarity Athens showed Ankara after a devastating earthquake hit southern Turkey last year.
The two leaders have sharp differences over the Israeli-Hamas war, but are keen to hold back further instability in the eastern Mediterranean as conflict also continues to rage in Ukraine.
“We always approach our discussions with Turkey with confidence and with no illusions that Turkish positions will not change from one moment to the next,” Mitsotakis said last week. “Nevertheless, I think it’s imperative that when we disagree, the channels of communication should always be open.”
“We should disagree without tension and without this always causing an escalation on the ground,” he added.
Ioannis Grigoriadis, a professor of political science at Ankara’s Bilkent University, said the two leaders would look for ways “to expand the positive agenda and look for topics where the two sides can seek win-win solutions,” such as in trade, tourism and migration.