VASSILIS NEDOS

Calm waters despite disagreements

The much-anticipated meeting between Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Monday highlighted a consensus on the need to maintain calm waters in the Aegean, but also to keep open the channels of communication despite known disagreements in key policy areas.

PM in Ankara without high expectations

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ visit to Ankara on Monday and his meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will take place without high expectations, with the main goal being to preserve the positive climate, the “calm waters” in the Aegean, and the open channels of communication between the two sides.

09.05.2024 / 11:30

Turkish defense firm refers to ‘Blue Homeland’ in connection with drone missile test

Baykar, the Turkish defense contractor run by the son-in-law of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Selcuk Bayraktar, has referred to Ankara’s controversial expansionist doctrine in a press release hailing a firing test at sea with its newly developed “Bayraktar Akinci” unarmed combat aerial vehicle.

07.05.2024 / 16:11

Steps to block oil transfers off Greek coast

The government believes it has found a way to disrupt the sanctions-busting operations taking place off the southern coast of the Greek mainland that allow Russian oil exports.

07.05.2024 / 08:06

Athens wary of VMRO comeback

The expected victory of the center-right nationalist VMRO-DPMNE party in North Macedonia’s presidential and parliamentary elections is worrying Greek officials, who do not know how far the new government will go towards questioning, or even repudiating, the 2018 Prespa Agreement, which put an end to nearly 30 years of tension between the two countries over the name “Macedonia,” which Greeks considered an outright (mis-) appropriation, not only of the geographical entity but of the heritage of the ancient Greek Kingdom of Macedonia.

03.05.2024 / 12:07

Athens, Ankara finalizing details of PM’s Turkey visit

Greek and Turkish officials are trying to finalize the details of the visit by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to Ankara on May 13, when he will meet with the president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

02.05.2024 / 11:39

Rama visit hangs in the balance

Questions have arisen as to whether Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s visit to Athens will finally be allowed on May 12, when he is scheduled to address a gathering of Albanian immigrants, members and friends of his party.

29.04.2024 / 15:31

Haggling over Greek aid to Ukraine

The protracted nature of the war in Ukraine and the signal sent a few days ago by the US Congress of the continued bipartisan commitment to Ukraine, with a substantial aid package, are putting pressure on Europeans to continue the flow of weapons systems and ammunition to Ukrainian forces.

28.04.2024 / 17:55

Seizing the opportunity for a Cyprus deal

The existing parameters of the United Nations are flexible enough to facilitate a settlement to the Cyprus dispute that addresses the priorities of both sides on the ethnically split Mediterranean island, Nusrat Ghani, the UK’s minister of state for Europe, says.

28.04.2024 / 17:25

PM’s Ankara trip to go ahead as planned

Meeting with Erdogan not affected by his postponement of US visit, but Athens aware of risks

26.04.2024 / 12:34

Concern over nationalists’ rise in North Macedonia

The resounding victory of North Macedonia’s conservative VMRO-DPMNE candidate over the country’s outgoing president in the first round of the presidential election elections is a very clear reflection of a general upward nationalist trend in the neighboring country.

25.04.2024 / 12:56

French ask to borrow air defense system

French authorities have formally submitted a request for the transfer of a Crotale short-range surface-to-air missile system of the Hellenic Air Force for the duration of the Paris Olympic Games.

22.04.2024 / 07:55

Ankara’s ‘paper war’ maintains tension

Overflights by Turkish fighters over Greek airspace, a lasting major source of tension between the two nominal allies, may have virtually ceased over the past six months, but this has not lulled Greek officials into believing that Turkey has abandoned its disputing of Greek sovereignty over large parts of the Aegean.

21.04.2024 / 18:35

Cypriot FM bemoans lack of goodwill from Turkey

The lack of goodwill from the Turkish side does not bode well for the reunification prospects of Cyprus, its Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said in an interview with Kathimerini.

19.04.2024 / 08:01

Turkish threats over marine parks

Tensions with Ankara have resurfaced again after Ankara’s objections to Greece’s announcement to designate marine parks, including one in the Aegean Sea.