Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis defended on Wednesday the government’s new labor law, arguing that it “sets some rules in the [labor] jungle” and “builds a modern working environment” in Greece, during a debate in parliament.
POLITICS
![[Reuters]](https://www.ekathimerini.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Mitsotakis_Erdogan_NATO_reuters-320x200.jpg)
In the wake of the much anticipated meeting on Monday in Brussels between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the mood in Athens was cautiously positive on Tuesday.
![urkish President Tayyip Erdogan meets with Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on the sidelines of the NATO summit, in Brussels, Belgium June 14, 2021. [Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Presidential Press Office/Handout via Reuters]](https://www.ekathimerini.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Mitsotakis_Erdogan_NATO_reuters-1-320x200.jpg)
In a 50-minute meeting described by Greek sources as an “ice breaker,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to a joint understanding on Monday that 2020 tensions should not be repeated in 2021, while noting at the same time that the big differences between the two NATO members remain.
Monday’s meeting was different. In contrast to the two previous ones – in September and December 2019, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly and the NATO anniversary summit, respectively – this time, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were alone, without delegations, even though their foreign and defense ministers were in Brussels at the time.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis should push for a resolution of continental shelf and exclusive economic zone issues with Turkey through the international court at The Hague, SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras said on Monday.
The meeting between Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erogan in Brussels on the sidelines of the NATO Summit “broke the ice” between the two countries, Greek government sources said on Monday afternoon, in a first assessment of the talks.
Greece and Albania are ready to speed up negotiations on an arbitration agreement for reaching a settlement on the delimitation of their respective maritime zones via the International Court of Justice at The Hague, after the general elections in Albania, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Albanian counterpart Edi Rama said on Monday.
![Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan arrives at a NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium, June 14, 2021. [Francois Mori/Pool via Reuters]](https://www.ekathimerini.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Erdogan_reuters-320x200.jpg)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is vying to mend Turkey’s battered relations with its Western partners, said Monday that a revival of dialogue with fellow NATO member Greece to resolve long-standing disputes will serve “stability and prosperity” in the region.
![[Screen grab from TV footage by state-run broadcaster ERT]](https://www.ekathimerini.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Mitsotakis_Erdogan_ERT_footage-320x200.jpg)
A scheduled meeting between Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erogan in Brussels, on the sidelines of the NATO Summit, got underway on Monday afternoon.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called on British counterpart Boris Johnson on Monday to revise the travel restrictions for Greece which has remained on the UK’s “amber list,” requiring travelers to quarantine for 10 days on return to the country and taking two pre-booked Covid-19 tests whilst in quarantine.
Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis arrives for the NATO summit at the Alliance’s headquarters, in Brussels, Monday.
US President Joe Biden and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will discuss problematic bilateral ties on Monday including Ankara’s purchase of Russian S-400 missiles, but there is little hope they will resolve any of several disputes that divide NATO.
![[AP]](https://www.ekathimerini.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Bennett_AP_web-320x200.jpg)
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has offered congratulations to Naftali Bennett after he was sworn in as Israel’s new prime minister.
Greek-Turkish relations are emerging from a period of deep crisis, perhaps the deepest in recent years.
![Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and officials attend the inauguration of Taksim Mosque in central Istanbul on May 28. [Reuters]](https://www.ekathimerini.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/taksim-320x200.jpg)
Hagia Sophia is at the center of a political controversy in Turkey. The conversion of the museum housed in a 6th century Christian church in Istanbul into a mosque by presidential decree sparked a big debate in the country. Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s move is seen as a turning point for the Turkish president, having generated […]
![Parts of a Russian S-400 missile defense system being unloaded from a Russian plane at Murted Airport near Ankara last year. The S-400 issue is a serious challenge undermining NATO militarily, diplomatically and politically, the author says. [Reuters]](https://www.ekathimerini.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/s-400_reuters-320x200.jpg)
In the footsteps of his predecessors, during his first transatlantic trip, Joe Biden is paying an important visit to NATO.
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