By Penelope Galliou

For Tuesday afternoon, at 18:40 Greek time, the new four-four between the Greek prime minister and the Turkish president in New York, on the sidelines of the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly, was closed.

After processes and contacts and in the midst of a “full agenda” of the two leaders, Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Recep Tayyip Erdogan they made their appointment keeping the communication channels active and open between the two sides of the Aegean, while the meeting is expected to take place with the well-known “three plus three” composition. In other words, in addition to the two leaders, the foreign ministers and the heads of the diplomatic offices will be present.

The Greek-Turkish relations and developments in Cypriot they are at the top of the interest of the Greek prime minister in this trip to the American continent and in Athens they insist on the open channels of communication with Ankara in order for them to function as “valves” for relieving tensions at times.

Nevertheless, it has become clear that there are no illusions about changing Ankara’s fixed positions and tactics and for this reason, moreover, Athens has precisely and clearly drawn its red lines.

In the upcoming meeting with the Turkish president, the aim is to discuss the road map for the coming months, while the two leaders are expected to be concerned with the bilateral relations between Greece and Turkey, as they have been shaping and developing lately, regional developments at a critical juncture for the wider region of the Eastern Mediterranean, while immigration is also high on the agenda, especially after the developments caused by Germany’s new policy, to tighten its stance on its borders.

“As long as traffickers adapt their methods, we should be alert and increase the levels of cooperation with Turkey,” observed government sources, while expressing Athens’ satisfaction with the level of cooperation with Turkey in this field. Besides, he added that in a very turbulent period for our wider neighborhood and at a time when new and more crises are constantly “emerging” in the Middle East “the fact that we can talk, advance the positive agenda and not lead to escalation in the field , all this is a positive conquest” commented the same sources.

In any case, the Greek side, having thoroughly and emphatically clarified its red lines, after the meeting of the two leaders will assess the facts and the depth of the issues that may be discussed, in order to be ready to include other issues in the discussions, such as possibly that of the marine zones.

High on the Greek Prime Minister’s agenda are the Cyprus issue and the resumption of talks between the two sideswith the Greek position remaining firm and non-negotiable: restarting the dialogue in the direction of finding a permanent, just and sustainable solution for the reunification of the island cannot under any circumstances be done outside the framework of the UN Security Council resolutions on the bi-zonal bi-communal federation. This issue is expected to be raised by the Greek side at the bilateral meeting, with Athens appearing modestly optimistic about the resumption of talks.

After all, this issue will also be on the table of the meeting that Kyriakos Mitsotakis will have with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on September 26, who has taken the initiative to start the process to determine whether there can be a resumption of negotiations for the resolution of the Cyprus issue.

In addition to the meeting with the Turkish president which was “bulletarded” on the prime minister’s schedule in the US, Kyriakos Mitsotakis will have a barrage of contacts and meetings on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, and is expected to indulge in a “sprint” of diplomatic contacts for our country, at a critical moment for our wider region.

In this context, Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ program includes meetings with ten foreign leaders, while of prime importance will be the speech he will address before the UN General Assembly, where he is expected to address all the major challenges of the time, with a focus on global geopolitics and technological challenges. According to information, he is also expected to make special reference to the fact that next year Greece will assume the position of a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council with the threefold motto of Dialogue, Democracy, Diplomacy.