The channels of communication with Turkiye have never been closed, said Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis in an interview with Skai radio on Wednesday, emphasising their importance in preventing potential tensions and crises.
The foreign minister stressed that the policy of so-called “calm waters” is “a fundamental choice of the Prime Minister,” which has allowed Greece to gain time “to regroup both in defence and in the economy.”
Gerapetritis reiterated that the High-Level Cooperation Council will take place in the coming months in Ankara, where Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan are expected to meet.
The Council’s agenda will be prepared during the next round of political dialogue and of the “positive agenda,” which will take place on January 20 and 21 in Athens.
Gerapetritis noted that the “fundamental, underlying” differences, particularly regarding the delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the continental shelf, remain, “but this should not prevent the two sides from meeting and talking.”
“There appears to be political will to move toward a definitive solution to our major issues,” he said, adding that “very significant steps have been taken, but the last mile is the most difficult.”
The fact that Mitsotakis and Erdoğan have not met so far, he pointed out, does not necessarily indicate a crisis in their relationship, just as the opposite would not necessarily be the case, and he stressed that normality should return to their meetings.
“We do not necessarily need to produce major agreements; we need to talk—this is necessary, geography demands it,” he emphasised, adding that “today Greece is in a position to negotiate from a position of equality, if not strength.”