All eyes are on New York and tomorrow’s meeting Mitsotakis – Erdogan on the sidelines of the UN assembly. The meeting of the two leaders will take place at 6 pm Greek time and is expected to be the trigger for a process of contacts, during which issues concerning the relations and cooperation of the two countries will be discussed.

According to what he transmits the correspondent of SKAI from Istanbul, Manolis Kostidis, the meeting is expected short with the “menu” including important topics such as the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean. Foreign ministers Giorgos Gerapetritis and Hakan Fidan will also be present as well as deputy ministers. The two leaders will try to give the orders for the next steps, which are the political consultations but also for the issues concerning the Aegean, mainly for the continental shelf. However, as the SKAI correspondent reports, we should not expect spectacular results because it is an attempt to continue the good course that has been created in Vilnius after the earthquake in Turkey.

What does the Greek left expect from tomorrow’s meeting between Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Recep Tayyip Erdogan:

-First of all to maintain the good atmosphere in the coming months and

– to start a long process

What are Athens’ assessments of Turkey’s attitude:

-Athens believes that Turkey will keep a low profile because it needs help and funds to rebuild the country after the earthquake

-Ankara has also realized that relations with Europe and the USA go through good relations with Greece.

“I consider it extremely positive that communication channels have been restored with Turkey at all levels. At the highest possible level through regular meetings between me and President Erdogan, at the political level of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through a regular communication between the Minister and the Deputy Minister with their counterparts” commented Kyriakos Mitsotakis during the press conference he gave in the framework of the TIF, giving an impression of the climate that occupies the Greek side regarding the meeting.

At the same time, he sent a message to Ankara and remained unmoved by the red lines of Athens, reiterating our country’s standing positions, which are the only ones up for discussion, and exclusively concern the delimitation of maritime zones, i.e. EEZ and continental shelf, in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean. He clarified, emphatically and for the umpteenth time, that “there is no way Greece will ever discuss issues that have to do with national sovereignty. Issues that have to do with the status of the islands of the Eastern Aegean – moreover, I want to remind you that this year marks the 100th anniversary of the Treaty of Lausanne, which has proven to be extremely durable– but also issues arising from the self-evident rights that arise from the exercise of sovereignty over these islands”.

Pursuit of Greece and from this summit meeting between the Greek prime minister and the Turkish president is to maintain the good atmosphereas stated by government sources and they emphasize that even if something is not agreed on the substantive issues, having a framework for cooperation and avoiding tensions without resolving the substantive issues, this will be a significant benefit for our country as well as for Turkey.

In any case, the Government seeks to take advantage of the momentum, and to prolong and ensure a period of calm but also of cultivation of these bilateral relations which will contribute in this direction and make difficult any repetition of extreme tensions and events that have scarred the recent past. “We have no illusions, nor are we naive” commented a government source regarding the cultivation of expectations, emphasizing, however, the good climate and the pursuit of building a climate of trust and the conditions that will lead to a significant improvement in Greece-Turkey relations.

At the table of the bilateral meeting in New York, six people are expected to sit: in addition to the two leaders, the two foreign ministers Giorgos Gerapetritis and Hakan Fidan, the two diplomatic advisers of the two leaders, Anna Maria Boura, director of the diplomatic office of the prime minister from the Greek side and Akif Tsagatai Kilic from the side of Mr. Erdogan.

The summit meeting of the two leaders is expected to act as a trigger for the next contacts between Greece and Turkey, at the level of foreign ministries and diplomatic missions, with the main objective of maintaining the good climate, calm and dialogue. Contacts and bilateral processes, which will culminate during the Supreme Council of Cooperation between Greece and Turkey which will be held in Thessaloniki before the end of the year.

In detail schedule of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in New York (New York time).

Wednesday, September 20

9.20, Interview with CNN and Richard Quest

11.00, Meeting with the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan

13:00, Lunch with representatives of the Community

16:00, Meeting with the President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulidis

18:00, Meeting with the President of South Korea,

Thursday, September 21

07:30, Meetings of the Prime Minister with investors

12:30 PM, Speech by the Prime Minister at Yale University

18:00, Speech of the Prime Minister at the UN General Assembly

Friday, September 22

In the morning the Prime Minister will have meetings with representatives of American Jewish organizations

13.05, Meeting of the Prime Minister with the UN Secretary General.

Erdogan: “We have been friends with Greece for many decades, we have never fought in opposite camps”

On the eve of the meeting, tomorrow afternoon, with the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in New York, the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that Turkey and Greece have been “friends for many decades. We never fought in opposite camps.”

As Manolis Kostidis reports from Istanbul, in an interview with the PBS network, journalist Amna Nawaz asks him the following question: “As you know, there are skeptics in the US Congress about this sale of F-16s. Among them is the chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Bob Menendez. I spoke with him last week and he cites several reasons that he is opposed to the sale at this time, that you threaten Greek security, you imprison journalists and opposition politicians, you do not participate in the sanctions of the Western Alliance against Russia. And he said: “Turkey has the opportunity to show us and the rest of NATO that it is part of the team.” What about this one;”.

And Erdogan replied: “Bob Menendez doesn’t know much about Turkey. And Menendez doesn’t seem to know Tayyip Erdogan either. We have been friends with Greece for many decades. We never fought in opposite camps. It seems that Menendez has taken a hostile approach to Turkey and is trying to drag us into some discussions of his choosing, but we are not going to be a part of that. Our friendship with Greece is not as they present it”.

THE Amna Nawaz he continued: What about the US sale of F-16s to Turkey? Do you think this is connected to Turkey’s support for Sweden joining NATO? Because the day after you agreed to push Sweden’s NATO application through your Parliament, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that Washington will proceed with the sale of F-16s. Do you think the two issues are related?

Erdogan replied: “I think these two issues should not be connected, because while, first of all, President Biden said that this issue was tied up in Congress, we would always say, okay, we have the National Assembly. Therefore these matters are connected with the Parliament. If Parliament does not take a positive decision on this application, then there is nothing we can do.

She the question cannot be asked of a political leader. As the way I approach countries around the world are based on the ‘Kazan-Kazan’ win-win scenario. The better relations I have with the USA, the better relations I will have with Russia. With the same approach I will have relations with the EU members. kazan-kazan”.

In the meantime, the Turkish president’s reaction to a question about Demirtas caused a sensation.

Erdogan commented that “Selahatin Demirtas is a terrorist, he is responsible for the death of 200 people.”

Then the journalist intervened saying: “Sorry to intrude, but the European Court of Human Rights disagrees with this position.”

Then Erdogan answered her: “You have to respect me. You have no right to interrupt me. You must also respect the court’s decision.”