Greek premier to visit in quest for better relations
ANKARA: Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will be received today in Ankara by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the latest sign of warming relations between the Nato neighbours.
After decades of tensions between the two countries, occasionally broken by brief periods of reconciliation, the day-long visit follows a trip by Mr Erdogan to Greece in December and marks a new phase i n their diplomatic relations, diplomats said.
In December, the regional rivals — who are divided over the island of Cyprus and issue of migration through their respective waters — signed a declaration calling for “friendly and good neighbourly relations, recognising the importance of a mutual respect and peaceful coexistence”.
But this appeasement, helped also by solidarity after an earthquake killed more than 50,000 in southeastern Turkey in February last year, has been undermined by Turkey converting another former Byzantine church into a mosque.
After four years of restoration, the former Kariye Orthodox church in Istanbul re-opened as a mosque on May 6. The decision by Turkey made in 2020 to convert the church came after Muslim services resumed at the 6th centur y former Byzantine cathedral of Hagia Sophia. The landmark building had been a museum since 1935.
The changes were seen as part of Mr Erdogan’s efforts to galvanise his more conservative and nationalist supporters.
“There’s no shortage of mosques in the city. That is no way to treat cultural patrimony,” Mr Mitsotakis said two weeks ago, although he has also said that “channels of conversation must remain open”.
Mr Mitsotakis told Greek television station Alpha TV on Saturday that he will use today’s talks to push Mr Erdogan to “reverse” Kariye’s conversion.