Defense ministers agree to keep channels open
As part of the effort to maintain open channels of communication between Greek and Turkish officials, the defense ministers of both countries, Nikos Panagiotopoulos and Hulusi Akar, spoke on the phone on Thursday, with both agreeing to develop an agenda based on good-neighborly relations and international law.
The two ministers exchanged condolences on the tragedies of the earthquake in Turkey and the train accident in Greece, with Akar inviting Panagiotopoulos to visit the earthquake-affected areas in order to witness the situation there first-hand. It is still not clear whether the visit can take place due to the uncertainty of the elections.
However, there is reportedly a positive mood on the Greek side. For the time being, however, there does not seem to be any room for a pre-election resumption of the confidence building measures (CBMs).
Although pre-election CBMs have been announced in the past, it does not seem that this is imminent, as it has not yet been determined what the agenda will include. Furthermore both sides have a different understanding as to what exactly CBMs entail.
