A crucial meeting – where it will be seen whether discussions can move forward on a heavy agenda – will be held in November by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, George Gerapetrite and its Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan. As diplomatic sources learned, the two foreign ministers will meet on November 8 in Athens.
It should be noted here that recently Mr. Gerapetritis stated that the aim is to have an agreement on the demarcation framework by January, so that Greece and Turkey can then discuss the essence of the continental shelf and the Exclusive Economic Zone.
It is recalled that in his September speech at the UN General Assembly, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis highlighted that “Greece is willing to work to resolve the only important issue pending with its neighbor: the delimitation of the continental shelf and the Economic Agreement Exclusive”. Zone in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean. We have been unable to resolve this dispute for more than 40 years, but that does not mean it is doomed to remain unresolved.” As he underlined: “I am convinced that today we have a window of opportunity and we must be bold and wise enough to take advantage of this opportunity”
The government has no illusions that the Turkish attitude will change from one moment to the next and, in this context, the country’s red lines have been clearly drawn. The discussion, as Mr. Gerapetritis characteristically pointed out, does not cover the issue of national territorial waters, which as a matter of sovereignty are not included in the Greek-Turkish dialogue and their expansion is a “sovereign and inalienable right of the Greek State”. in the form and within the time frame considered appropriate”.
On November 8, in Athens, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan
It should be noted that, based on the roadmap agreed in September at the Prime Minister’s meeting Kyriakou Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in January, the Supreme Cooperation Council will take place. If by then there is a coincidence regarding the demarcation framework, it is expected that the two leaders will grant a special mandate during the High Cooperation Council, to begin substantive discussions. If there is no agreement between the parties on the framework, the discussion on the delimitation will not continue and the aim is not to burden the climate in the relations between the two parties.
Regarding exploratory contacts in a recent interview with “Kathimerini” Giorgos Gerapetritis noted “we do not intend to go to the 65th round. For 21 years and after 64 rounds of exploratory contacts, we have not managed to reach a level of discussion with Turkey, not even about the substance, but not even about the process.” He also highlighted that “the end of each round sometimes found us in a worse position compared to the beginning. It is now historically proven that on complex foreign policy issues inaction is generally harmful. Only movement produces useful energy.”
Immigration cooperation is critical
The government intends to intensify cooperation with Turkey on migration, as the issue has been in the spotlight lately for two different reasons: Firstly, the debate has flared up at European level, with countries like Germany and the Netherlands to move towards a stricter policy in a context that could cause a domino of developments. Secondly, developments in the Middle East raise concerns about the creation of a new migration flow and therefore it is crucial to continue cooperation with Ankara on this specific issue.
In fact, the date of the meeting of the Minister of Immigration and Asylum, Nikos Panagiotopoulos, with his Turkish counterpart, Ali Gerlikaya, will be set in the near future. In particular, with regard to the two countries’ cooperation on immigration, Mr. Panagiotopoulos mentioned that cooperation already exists, but the foundations must be improved further to deal with trafficking networks.