For the first time alone in tomorrow’s Mitsotakis-Erdogan four – Why will the delegations be absent

A strategic move on the Greek-Turkish diplomatic chessboard is expected to be made with tomorrow’s four-on-four of Kyriakos Mitsotakis with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which will take place on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Brussels in the absence of third parties.

of Georgia Ath. Skitzi

The meeting acquires special interest, as it is the first time the two men will speak openly alone without the presence of ministers (Defense, Foreign Affairs) and delegations, which gives another dimension to Greek-Turkish, which have plagued our country for years in terms of challenges, demands and the instrumentalization of immigration by Turkey.

Diplomatic sources state that The aim of both sides is to put the debate on a new footing, while while the agendas of Athens and Ankara are different, an attempt will be made to find a common field, especially in the issue of the delimitation of the maritime zones, for which Greece and Turkey have huge differences. “We have to find a way to manage our differences, without resorting to escalation of tension and avoiding what happened last summer,” he said in an interview with France24. Kyriakos Mitsotakis He added: “We must agree on a common framework with respect for international law and, of course, good neighborly relations.”

Mitsotaki-Erdogan four: Intense preparation

The ground for this meeting has been laid by the two Foreign Ministers, Nikos Dendias and Mevlut Tsavousoglou, as they have been preceded by two trips to Ankara and Athens, respectively with the common axis of creating the conditions for those who would “pave the red carpet” for the upcoming Mitsotas meeting. – Erdogan. And Turkey may have its own demands: abandonment of the extension of territorial waters to 12 miles, for which he reminds that he recommends casus belli, demilitarization of Aegean islands, challenge of the Greece-Cyprus EEZ by insisting on the “deletion” of the Charter of Seville, solution of two states – ie division – in the Cypriot , where he reiterates that the federation’s solution is now out of the question, however Greece sets its own rules and is not prepared to deviate from them at all.

Positive agenda but also asterisks

“We are always open to a positive agenda, but in a gradual, proportionate and reversible way, to use the phrases contained in the text of the March Council Conclusions,” he said at the start of the European Union Ministerial Meeting. Union in Athens, giving the stigma of the intentions with which he resorts to tomorrow’s meeting. He added meaningfully that “and this, of course, provided that the current de-escalation is maintained and that Turkey participates constructively in the dialogue and respects the conditions set by the EU, always in accordance with international law, including United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) “.