Greece highlights ‘positive turn’ in ties with Ankara
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Bilateral relations between Greece and Turkey have been restored following the latter's changed stance toward Athens, as per Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias.
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Greek, Turkish, and European Union flags on the foreign ministry house before a meeting of a Greek Foreign minister and his Turkish counterpart in 2021. (AP)
Greece on Saturday affirmed its recent “positive turn” in relations with Turkey following devastating crises in both countries.
The joint statement comes following the fourth Positive Agenda Meeting in the Turkish capital of Ankara on March 22 and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu's recent meeting with his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias in Brussels.
Dendias affirmed that the meetings reflect the new reality between the two countries.
The top Greek diplomat said that Ankara's changed stance toward Athens was the reason for the improvement in bilateral relations in an interview with the Greek newspaper Proto Tema.
He further noted that Greece is obligated to respond to such Turkish behavior correspondingly, despite the fact that the Greek administration is fully aware of the relationship's challenges.
“It would be unforgivable on the Greek side not to attempt to utilize this change,” Dendias said, adding: “Greece has an absolute duty to step through the door Turkey has opened.”
When twin earthquakes devastated 11 southern Turkish provinces on February 6, Greece was one of the first nations to express support and condolences.
Similarly, Turkey was the first nation to send condolences and aid after a train catastrophe that occurred on February 28 in northern Greece that left at least 57 people dead.
Ankara permitted the transport of a Greek prisoner to Greece after the accident so that he may attend his son's funeral. At their meeting on March 20 in Brussels, Cavusoglu and Dendias decided that Turkey would back Greece's bid for a non-permanent membership on the UN Security Council in 2025–2026 and that Athens would support Ankara's bid for secretary general of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Greece and Turkey have been at odds for years over maritime borders and energy exploration rights in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean seas. Erdogan accused Greece of "occupying" the Aegean islands, whose status was determined by treaties signed following World War I. Simultaneously, Athens accused Turkey of carrying out hundreds of illegal military sorties over the islands.
However, it was revealed in late December that Germany hosted a secret meeting in Belgium between top foreign policy advisors to the leaders of Greece and Turkey to discuss the normalization of ties between the two countries after years of tension.
