Greek-Turkish: Diplomatic marathon of Athens – The three critical “stops”

By Penelope Galliou

A new multi-day diplomatic marathon with three stops, in the USA, Prague and Brussels, is starting next week by the Greek Prime Minister, with the aim of continuing the internationalization of the Turkish challenges but also of further strengthening the already strong alliances of Athens.

After the meeting of Kyriakos Mitsotakis with Emmanuel Macron in Paris, and the joint message of zero tolerance for revisionism, which the two leaders sent to Ankara, the prime minister continues his barrage of international contacts, the focus of which will be the destabilized Greek-Turkish relations with the sole responsibility of Turkey and its non-existent complaints against Greece.

The UN General Assembly

The Greek prime minister’s first stop will be New York for the UN General Assembly on September 20 to 23. The preparations at the Maximos Palace are feverish as there are already proposals for meetings of the Greek Prime Minister with foreign leaders on the sidelines of the UN Assembly and with international actors, where the main topic is expected to be the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis it has caused worldwide. In this context, Kyriakos Mitsotakis will have the opportunity to present and discuss the Greek positions and goals, our country’s commitment to the peace and stability of the Eastern Mediterranean, in a globally difficult moment, and to further communicate the Turkish challenges that they only act as a destabilizing “fuse” for the wider region.

During his stay in New York, the prime minister will also have important contacts with representatives of the diaspora, while many interviews are planned with foreign media which show a particular interest in Greece’s relations with its eastern neighbor.

Alongside the Prime Minister’s activity, the diplomatic marathon will continue in New York and Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, who will also participate in the work of the UN General Assembly. According to diplomatic sources, Mr. Dendias is expected to have a series of contacts with his counterparts from the Greek neighborhood but also with countries with which Greece did not have traditional relations, but which play a role in the global arena. He is also going to sign a series of bilateral agreements, participate in meetings that the Prime Minister will have while he has been included in his program – among other many contacts – and a meeting with the foreign ministers of the European Union, where Mr. Dendias is expected to inform about the escalation of Turkish provocation.

At the same time, the Greek foreign minister is expected to promote the Greek candidacy for a seat on the UN Security Council in the period 2025-2026, the candidacy for the Human Rights Council in the period 2028-2030 and the Presidency of the UN General Assembly in 2035.

In Prague

The Greek Prime Minister’s next stop will be in Prague, at the European Political Community (EPC) Summit that will take place on October 6 within the framework of the European Council of the EU. It is a summit that is expected to be attended by many non-EU countries. such as Switzerland, Iceland, Albania, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, etc.

So far, in fact, a climate is being cultivated, according to which it is possible that the EU leaders will try to achieve a kind of “dialogue” – if not a meeting – between the Greek Prime Minister and the Turkish President who will represent his country in Prague, even though Tayyip Erdogan continues to dynamit the climate with Greece and many times in the last period of the Turkish escalation, he has declared himself negative in such a contact. On the contrary, the Greek prime minister, despite the strict messages he sends to Ankara to stop its delusional provocations, has repeatedly supported the opinion that the channels of communication between the two countries must remain open.

The stamp of the Greek position was clearly given by the prime minister during the press conference at the TIF, where he also referred to the Prague meeting and emphasized that “Turkey is causing tension and presents Greece as an alleged aggressor. There is no one abroad who believes that the Greek islands are a threat to Turkey. We will build our alliances even more consistently. We will equip our EDs but we will also have open channels with Turkey. I did not blow up the bridges with Turkey. I am always open to meet Erdogan. He he doesn’t want to. But I have heard this before. And finally we met and we will meet again. There is a meeting of the European political community in Prague that Turkey can attend. But let Turkey know that if it is there it will be confronted with the Greek argumentation “.

In Brussels

The prime minister’s third stop will be in Brussels on October 20-21, where the European Council is scheduled to convene. There, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, among other issues, will raise the issue of Turkish provocation and it is not excluded that the issue of sanctions against Turkey will also be brought up on the table. An issue brought back to the plenary of the European Parliament by ND MEP Eliza Vosenberg, asking for an immediate reaction with harsh sanctions from the EU against Turkey, which has recently intensified its revisionist policy against Greece and Cyprus.

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