Greek-Turkish contacts scheduled for Feb 2, March 11
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the agenda of meetings between Greek and Turkish officials in the coming months, which will culminate in a meeting between Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey in the spring.
Deputy Foreign Minister Kostas Fragogiannis is expected to visit Istanbul on February 2. The visit will focus on promoting the positive agenda and will include meetings with business leaders.
On March 11, a meeting on confidence-building measures between Greece and Turkey is expected to be held, led by Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Alexandra Papadopoulou, in preparation for the meeting between Mitsotakis and Erdogan, which is expected to take place in April or May.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan made a landmark visit to Greece last month and agreed with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to turn over a new leaf and focus on pursuing good neighborly relations, keep open channels of communication, seek military confidence-building measures to eliminate sources of tension, boost trade volumes and work on issues which have kept them apart, notably in the Aegean Sea.
“There is no issue between us that is unsolvable. So long as we focus on the big picture and don’t end up being like those who cross the sea and drown in the river,” Erdogan had said.