By Penelope Galliou

With restrained optimism, Athens “counts” yesterday’s meeting between the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and the Turkish President, Tayyip Erdoğan, putting the bilateral relations, as reflected through the positive agenda and the management of the declared disagreements of the two sides of the Aegean.

The meeting between the two leaders lasted about an hour and a half, behind the closed doors of his Palace Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara and according to government sources, but also based on the mood emitted by the two men during their joint statements, it was conducted in a good atmosphere. Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Tayyip Erdoğan, despite the thorny issues that exist and define the Greek-Turkish differences, recognized the progress that has been achieved in the relations between their countries, in recent months and especially after the Athens Declaration, six months ago, a fact that weighs positively for both sides. What is important is the fact that despite the expressed disagreements and differences of the two sides – which we also saw publicly expressed on the well-known issues such as the conversion of the Monastery of Chora into a mosque or on the Muslim minority of Thrace or the activities of Hamas – the two leaders focused on the positive agenda.

“Next to our established disagreements we can write a parallel page with our agreements” he said characteristically during the joint press conference they granted, after their meeting in Ankara, Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Certainly the positive agenda and the commonly acknowledged good climate are neither going to resolve nor set aside the Greek-Turkish differences. However, the new agreements announced yesterday by the Turkish capital for greater cooperation in the fields of Health and Civil Protection regarding the response and management of disasters and emergencies, as well as the establishment of the Greek-Turkish Business Council contribute to maintaining open channels communication and cooperation of the two sides on the issues of “low” politics and update the letter of the Declaration of Athens which spoke of measures of common interest in the context of an “enhanced Joint Plan of Action”.

Among the positives of yesterday’s meeting is also the new “road map” of the meetings of the two leaders for the coming period and until the end of this year. Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Tayyip Erdogan in their meetings so far, are expected to add a new one, probably in Washington, next July as they will coincide with the NATO Summit for the 75th anniversary of its establishment, while the next appointment is also expected to be set on American soil , in New York, in September, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

In addition to these contacts, however, there are also pending meetings at a lower level, which must enter a new cycle, with the replacement of Deputy Foreign Minister Burak Akshapar, who is moving to the UN in the coming months, leaving for the time being without an interlocutor for the political dialogue and the positive agenda Alexandra Papadopoulou and Costas Fragogiannis.

According to government sources, the two leaders also agreed, the next meeting of the Greece-Turkey High Cooperation Council will be held in Ankara at the end of the year. Also, it was agreed to repeat the Greek-Turkish meetings on the basis of the three axes, which were agreed upon during their meeting in Vilnius, namely political dialogue, positive agenda and Confidence Building Measures.

Despite the intentions and good mood shown by both leaders to maintain and continue the good climate between Greece and Turkey, in public view, they did not avoid arguing about the timeless and permanent Greek-Turkish differences, for which the positions of both sides of the of the Aegean remain irrevocable. Tayyip Erdoğan spoke again – in violation of the Treaty of Lausanne, about a “Turkish minority” causing the mild but clear reaction of the Greek Prime Minister, for which Mr. Mitsotakis expressed “sadness and dissatisfaction”.

The strongest disagreement however, and perhaps unexpected, which is not related to the Greek-Turkish, as one might expect, emerged over the role of Hamas with the two men agreeing to disagree strongly. Kyriakos Mitsotakis spoke about a terrorist organization and that Israel has the right to self-defense, provoking the strong reaction of Recep Tayyip Erdogan who spoke of a resistance organization that “wants to protect its lands and people. We would be sorry if you called it a terrorist organization I cannot agree with this approach of yours,” said the Turkish president to the Greek prime minister. However, both leaders agreed that “we disagree on this issue. Let’s agree that there must be a need for an immediate ceasefire,” Mr. Mitsotakis proposed to get Mr. Erdogan’s agreement.

Indicative of the climate and the intentions of the two sides of the Aegean was the post of the Greek Prime Minister, after the end of the visit to Ankara, which captured the prevailing climate – despite the ups and downs – in Greek-Turkish relations. “Our meeting is the fourth in the last ten months, which proves that the two neighbors can now establish this approach of mutual understanding,” commented Mr. Mitsotakis.