By Antonis Anzoletou

THE Tayyip Erdogan he has before him, on March 31, the municipal elections always counting on the two metropolises: St Constantinople and in Ankara aiming to recover them. He is powerful, but inside him there are nationalist voices that remind him that he should not relax in relation to Greece. It is not easy, after all, to retreat from the verbal stunts and provocations about a blue homeland, demilitarization of the islands and missiles that will hit mainland Greece, as he will be criticized for a change of attitude. “Sin” unforgivable for a large majority of his audience. Possibly for this reason he insists on a hard line in relation to the Cyprus issue – with actions to recognize the pseudo-states – in order not to be accused of total conversion.

What is the main conclusion from his meeting? Kyriakou Mitsotakis with Tayyip Erdogan; How the two countries will enter the discussion on the important and difficult issues with their well-known views without any shift or differentiation. And the dialogue will be tough and, as the vast majority of analysts claim, deadlocked. It is a fact that for each Greek government the gray zones, the airspace and general issues of sovereignty are not subject to the jurisdiction of any International Court. What the Turkish president signaled with his presence in Greece was that the next meetings can take place in a good atmosphere regardless of whether there is no point of contact. And calmness in the airspace and in the Aegean is currently the driver. History has proven that the periods when Greece and Turkey did not talk, the problems continued to swell with the neighbors putting new issues on the table. The Hague is a permanent request of Greece which, however, requires the consent of Ankara to proceed. The “thick clouds” above the two countries have dissipated, but the problem of trust remains.

The declaration signed between the two countries is general enough to be open to different interpretations. Nevertheless, if one considers that the Turkish president not long ago questioned the Treaty of Lausanne, threatening Greece through it, it cannot but be considered an important step.

Turkey is a fact that with two wars going on in the wider region (Ukraine and Gaza) he has distanced himself from the west, as the views he expresses have displeased the big players and international organizations. If we add to this the accession of Sweden to NATO, the USA has three open issues with Tayyip Erdoğan who always shows that what interests him more is hegemony in the Muslim world. It may have many financial problems and needs Europe, however with its movements and the development of trade relations with other countries it does not hide that it is looking for alternatives.

For the next period, the road map that will be drawn is crucial, as it will show exactly where things are going in relation to the core issues that concern the two countries. Giorgos Gerapetritis and Hakan Fidan will have meetings at the beginning of the new year, while Alexandra Papadopoulou and Burak Aksapar will continue to run the political dialogue. The presence of the prime minister – most likely in April – in Ankara is expected to be the pivotal moment that will decide the future of the consultations.