By Penelope Galliou

They are expected to seek a joint step for the benefit of both countries this afternoon at six o’clock, in New York, o Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Tayyip Erdogan, seeking to continue the positive momentum that has possessed Greek-Turkish relations in recent months and is reflected both in the field and at the rhetorical level, especially after the meeting of the two leaders of Greece and Turkey in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Present at today’s meeting of the two leaders, which is the second in 2023, will also be Foreign Ministers Giorgos Gerapetritis and Hakan Fidan, who met again yesterday to prepare the agenda and schedules of the Mitsotakis Erdogan Quartet , as well as deputy ministers, with the two leaders expected 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.

The main objective of the Greek side is, in addition to maintaining the positive climate, to investigate the possibility of a future appeal to The Hague for the delimitation EEZ and continental shelf. A goal that Athens clearly recognizes cannot be achieved overnight, just like the resolution of the differences between the two countries, after all the Prime Minister himself from the TIF said that “The Hague is still a long way off”.

Greek-Turkish relations were mentioned at an event with Greek-American organizations Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgos Gerapetritis , and presented the road map that will determine the next steps in the coming months with the aim of consolidating a positive climate between the two sides. However, it was particularly clear that dialogue with Turkey can only be based on full respect for International Law, including the Law of the Sea and treaties establishing state sovereignty, borders and territorial integrity. As he explained, Greece’s position is that dialogue on the strict basis of International Law is the only way to resolve disputes. In this light, Mr. Gerapetritis clarified that the difference between Greece and Turkey concerns the delimitation of maritime zones and emphasized that all issues of national sovereignty are excluded from any dialogue.

During the recent meeting of the two Ministers of Foreign Affairs Mr. Gerapetritis and Mr. Fidan in Ankara, a road map was agreed for the coming months, in order to push the relations on a new basis based on three pillars: the first pillar is the political dialogue, the which will be led by Deputy Minister Alexandra Papadopoulou. A second pillar will be the positive agenda that will have positive measures for both countries, led by Deputy Minister Costas Fragogiannis and the third pillar will be confidence building measures.

he road map it includes meetings for all three pillars in October and November and by the end of the year the High Council of Greece-Turkey Cooperation will be held between the two governments in order to sign a set of agreements.

“I must emphasize that a constructive dialogue with Turkey can only be based on the full respect of International Law, including the Law of the Sea and the treaties that establish the sovereignty of states, their borders and territorial integrity,” emphasized Mr. Gerapetritis at the event in New York.

Athens from today’s meeting between the two leaders Greece – Turkeyexpects the maintenance of low tones and the demonstration of consistency and continuity by the Turkish President in the improvement of Greek-Turkish relations, which is reflected in the climate of settlement presented by Ankara in recent months.

It is estimated that the Turkish president has at least three decisive reasons for keeping a low profile with Greece, as Ankara has realized that Turkey’s rapprochement with Europe and the US goes through good relations with Greece, at a time when on the one hand, the Turkish economy needs significant external funds to recover, on the other hand, it still has a long way to go to rebuild the areas affected after the devastating earthquakes.

Perhaps typical of the intentions of the Turkish side is the interview of the Turkish president on the PBS television network where he made a friendship attack towards Greece stating “We have been friends with Greece for many decades. We have not been in opposing camps against each other”, he said characteristics, preparing the ground for today’s meeting.​