Turkey and Greece to resume talks after five years

Athens and Ankara have set a date to resume talks between the two countries after the tension of recent months. It will be the first such meeting since they were suspended five years ago. Since then, the differences between the two capitals have not ceased to grow, reaching their peak during this past 2020. The first round will take place on 25 January in Istanbul.

The delegation that Greece will send to Istanbul will be led by Pavlos Apostolidis, the former director of the Greek National Intelligence Agency, who was already in charge of the Greek delegation when the talks were suspended in 2016 without any agreement having been reached.

During his visit to Portugal, the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, expressed the Greek government's desire to resume the talks exactly where they left off, and thus try to reduce the growing tension between the two countries. The Greek side initially commented that it had not received any formal invitation, as the Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Çavusoglu, had initially stated. However, at the last minute both sides announced that the date for the resumption of the meetings was set for the 25th.

This was not the only initial disagreement. While on the Turkish side it is pointed out that the Greek occupation of some of the Aegean islands and the demilitarization of those near the Turkish coast will be discussed, on the Greek side it is flatly denied. Athens indicates that only the differences with regard to the maritime zones and the Exclusive Economic Zones will be discussed.

The exploration of hydrocarbons in disputed waters by Turkey has been one of the main reasons for tension between the two countries. Turkey even sent specialised drilling ships accompanied by Turkish Navy vessels, which triggered the tension and aggravated the diplomatic tension. Greece refers to the fact that its small islands scattered throughout the Aegean should be taken into account when delimiting its waters, something that Turkey rejects.

Meanwhile, Greece has increased its defence budget to modernise and improve its armed forces, a decision that is accompanied by an increase of 15,000 troops and the extension of the duration of compulsory military service from nine months to one year while tension with Turkey continues.