By Antonis Anzoletou

When there is no incendiary rhetoric, such as the recent ones of the Minister of Defense Yasar Guler, the Greek-Turkish may not advance, but the “shut down engines” give “calm waters” to the seas and “clear skies” over the Aegean.

Does this suit the Greek side? Absolutely not, because the big and critical issues concerning the maritime zones are left out of the frame and the possibility of solving them through The Hague is removed.

The stagnation, however, helps create a climate of confidence building between the two countries. Difficult ones are left on the “shelf” by choice. A formal disagreement can be disastrous. Immobility is problematic and leads to dead ends, however the “signals” that exist do not justify anything more ambitious. Simply put, when progress serves the interests of the opponent, there is essentially no dilemma.

Possibly this state of “peaceful non-progress” is the most ideal at the given moment for another reason. Two important appointments are coming up.

The informal conference on the Cyprus issue and the supreme cooperation council at the beginning of the year in Ankara.

No “white smoke” could come out of the new appointment between Gerapetritis and Fidan, as they are not authorized by the “upper echelons” to go further. Demilitarization, gray zones, blue homeland are theories that will not go away because the positive agenda will simply move forward. There is a possibility, however, that the existence of a base and a perspective for cooperation on low-policy issues will be the investment for a better future.

In this context, the meetings were held on Monday and Tuesday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Costas Fragogiannis and Alexandra Papadopoulou simply kept the atmosphere “warm” with the appointments they had with their counterparts.

The Kasos episode was evaluated in Athens, as Turkey made it clear that wherever it considers it has rights, it will not hesitate to intervene.

Tayyip Erdoğan never saw the electrical interconnection of Cyprus with Crete with a good eye and he will not miss an opportunity to show his “teeth”. No one wants to believe that the Turkish president wants to cause a heated episode during the holidays that would shake everything up in the air. A few days ago, four frigates of the neighbors, returning from an exercise, moved near Kasos and Karpathos, but luckily there was no follow-up. And the question is simple: What will happen when the planned searches begin again in the same area? From the “calm waters” to the “storm” there is a very long distance.

The discussion again revolves around the attitude that the Greek side should follow. When things do not progress it is true that the Turks favor maintaining a state of contested sovereignty in areas of vital interest to Greece.

Does Turkey really want dialogue? A country that extremely often shows its contempt for international law did not wake up one day determined to invest in the principle of good neighborliness and understanding.

However, since no alternative proposals or a different strategy that could radically improve relations with Turkey have been recorded, open channels of communication have proven to be the most efficient and safest path for the country.