Greece and Turkey, long at odds, vow to work together peacefully
After years of tensions between Greece and Turkey, the countries’ leaders signed a “declaration on friendly relations and good neighborly relations” on Thursday in what they described as an effort to put the two neighboring rival nations on a more constructive path. The ultimate goal, they said, was to resolve long-standing differences that have brought them to the brink of military conflict in recent decades.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of Greece and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey signed the statement as Mr Erdogan made his first visit to Athens in six years. Although the pact is not legally binding, it is historically important (previous Greek leaders have tried but failed to make it a reality) and carries strong symbolism.
Top officials from both countries were also involved in talks on issues such as migration, energy, tourism and trade. The two leaders said their goal was to double annual trade between their countries to $10 billion.
Here’s what you need to know.
What happened on Thursday?
Erdogan appeared relaxed and smiling during a televised conversation with his Greek counterpart, President Katerina Sakellaropoulou. Greek television also showed Mr Mitsotakis and Mr Erdogan sharing an unusually cordial handshake before climbing the steps of the prime minister’s mansion for talks.
“There is no problem between us that is so big that it cannot be solved,” Erdogan said later in televised remarks with the Greek leader, “as long as we focus on the big picture.” “We want to make the Aegean Sea a sea of peace and cooperation.”
Mr Mitsotakis said: “Geography and history have brought us together, and I feel a historic obligation to bring the two states side by side, just like our borders. We owe it to the next generations to build a future with calm waters where the wind blows at our backs.”
According to the Greek Prime Minister’s Office, the countries signed a total of fifteen agreements in areas such as education, exports and agriculture. They pledged continued talks on political and economic issues such as energy and tourism, and agreed to take confidence-building measures to remove unwarranted sources of tension.
They pledged to keep channels of communication open and to refrain from any act or statement that could undermine the friendly spirit of the pact. If a dispute arises, they promised, both countries will try to resolve it peacefully.
Mr Mitsotakis said solutions to long-standing disputes over the so-called continental shelf and mineral rights in the Aegean Sea and the eastern Mediterranean would be explored as a “next step” once high-level talks had progressed.
The heat shows were a departure from the norm. Last year, Mr Erdogan declared that Mr Mitsotakis “doesn’t exist” for him after accusing the Greek prime minister of lobbying the US Congress to ban arms sales to Turkey. And during Erdogan’s last trip to Greece, in 2017, he stunned his Greek counterpart by suggesting that an international treaty defining the two countries’ modern borders should be revised.
On Thursday, Mr Erdogan said he expected such high-level talks to take place at least once a year, and invited Mr Mitsotakis to the next meeting in the Turkish capital Ankara.
The only moment of mild unrest came when Mr Mitsotakis responded to Mr Erdogan’s reference to a “Turkish minority” in Greece, noting that the international treaty that established the countries’ modern borders refers to a “Muslim” minority in Greece rather than towards a The Turkish, as the latter is seen in Greece as an implicit territorial aspiration.
What does Turkey have to gain?
For Turkey, improving ties with Greece is also a way to repair relations with the West, said Ahmet Kasim Han, professor of international relations at Beykoz University in Istanbul. “Turkey cannot afford to have any more tensions with the West in principle” because of its domestic economic problems, he said. “And Greece offers a great opportunity in that sense.”
Turkey wants that too protect its interests in the Eastern Mediterranean, an important route for natural gas to Europe that borders other important regional players such as Israel and Egypt. This is especially crucial given Turkey’s tense relations with Israel over the war in Gaza.
More broadly, Turkey must show the West that its foreign policy is not all about protest, Mr. Han said. “You have to show them that you can actually do business.”
What does Greece have to gain?
A reduction in tensions in the Aegean Sea – which periodically manifests itself in mock dogfights by Greek and Turkish fighter jets and in the shadowing of naval frigates – could reduce the possibility of an accident that could escalate into a military confrontation. This could eventually lead to a reduction in Greece’s high military expenditure.
Migration could also be significantly calmed by closer cooperation between countries’ coast guards. Although arrivals from Turkey to Greece have declined significantly, Greece is still aware of the 2015-2016 crisis that overwhelmed its resources, especially on a handful of Greek islands near the Turkish coast, when more than a million migrants poured into the country.
Greek analysts generally welcomed the pact as a potential boon for Greece.
Constantinos Filis, the director of the Institute of Global Affairs at the American College of Greece, said it was notable because it provided a roadmap not only for actions to take, but also for those to avoid.
“It is clear that both sides are willing to leave behind the bad moments of the recent past, but also to put aside for the time being what separates them,” he said.
Where do relations between Greece and Turkey stand, and why are they so tense?
The antagonism dates back centuries to Ottoman Turkey’s rule over Greece, which ended in the early 19th century. In recent decades, Greece and Turkey have been at loggerheads over issues such as territorial rights in the Aegean Sea, over the exploration of undersea energy resources, and over Turkey’s long-standing occupation of Northern Cyprus.
In 1996, the two countries nearly went to war over a pair of rocky, uninhabited islets in the Aegean Sea, known as Imia in Greece and Kardak in Turkey. Turkey has occasionally challenged the international treaty establishing the countries’ modern borders. And in August 2020, a pair of Greek and Turkish warships were involved in a minor collision in the Mediterranean, at a time when tensions over drilling rights there were escalating.
Migration has also been a point of contention. Greece has accused Turkey, which hosts the world’s largest refugee population, of exploiting migration to extract concessions from the European Union, a bloc Turkey has been a candidate for for more than two decades.
Greece is one of Europe’s largest gateways for migrants arriving through Turkey, and in March 2020 Mr Erdogan sparked a crisis at the countries’ shared land border by declaring the gateway to Europe was open to migrants. Greece has also accused Turkey of turning a blind eye to the smuggling of boats leaving its coast, while Turkey has condemned Greece for illegally pushing back migrants, which Greece denies.
Relations had improved in recent months after Greece came to Turkey’s aid following a major earthquake there in February.
Niki Kitsantonis reported from Athens, and Safak Timur from Istanbul.