On the verge of the NATO summit: rapprochement between Ankara and Athens Three-quarters of a billion people are starving

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday agreed on a rapprochement between the two warring states on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Lithuania.

It was the first face-to-face meeting between the two since Erdogan declared Mitsotakis persona non grata in June 2022. Since then, relations between Turkey and Greece had steadily deteriorated.

Relations only started to improve after the massive earthquake in Turkey last February, when Greece and other countries immediately came to the rescue. This was also evident in Vilnius: “Both sides agreed to build on the positive momentum (of recent months) and immediately reactivate numerous communication channels between the two countries,” Mitsotakis’ Athens office said on Wednesday.

Turkey’s presidential office said in the afternoon that it would be beneficial for both countries if the current positive climate in bilateral relations is extended.

The agreement even seems to go so far that people want to exchange ideas at the highest level of government. In the autumn, a meeting will be held in the northern Greek port of Thessaloniki, in which not only the most important ministers, but also Erdogan and Mitsotakis will participate.

Ankara said both sides stressed that they look forward to more frequent contacts at all levels to improve relations between them. Athens also announced that it would like more frequent contacts at all levels to create a climate of trust.

Athens and Ankara have been at odds over sovereign rights and natural gas resources in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean for years. Last year, Erdogan repeatedly threatened to invade the Greek islands because Greece had militarized them in violation of international treaties.

Athens, on the other hand, criticized the threats, complaining, among other things, about numerous illegal overflights of Greek territory by Turkish fighter jets. (sda/dpa)