Greece and Turkey hail positive meeting but maritime dispute remains

The foreign ministers of Greece and Turkey met in Athens on Friday as part of a diplomatic push to ease tensions between the neighbours and longtime rivals on various issues including maritime and territorial disputes, energy resources and migration.

Speaking after the meeting, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said relations between the two countries were improving and that their cooperation was getting “stronger every day”.

He acknowledged the disagreements between Ankara and Athens over the Aegean Sea, and said the countries should “identify our problems realistically”.

Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis said the nations still disagreed on how to demarcate their maritime boundaries after an initial attempt to address “a tough and crucial issue”, but that the subject would be broached again in meetings next month.

The foreign ministers also discussed the future of the ethnically partitioned island of Cyprus.

Peace negotiations in the decades-long conflict between Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities are in a stalemate, with the former calling for reunification as a federation and the latter demanding a two-state settlement. Following the meeting, Fidan said a federation model was “not viable” and said a new approach was needed.

The discussion between the two foreign ministers followed a series of high-profile talks between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as part of a initiative to improve ties and avoid crises that was launched in 2023.

The two nations, both NATO members, signed at least a dozen cooperation deals in December 2023 on education, energy, technology, tourism and trade, among other matters.

Bilateral trade between Greece and Turkey currently stands at about €5.8 billion, with a target of reaching €10bn within the next four or so years.

Last year, Erdoğan said the neighbours wanted to “convert the Aegean into a sea of peace and cooperation”, in reference to their shared border. “We wish to be an example to the world with the joint steps we will take as Turkey and Greece,” he said.

Over the last five decades, longstanding disputes have led Athens and Ankara to the brink of war three times.

Centering on maritime boundaries and exploration rights for resources in the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean sea, the latest flare-up happened in 2020, when Greek and Turkish navy ships shadowed each other in the Mediterranean.

Analysts have said that improved ties between the countries are significant because they could help Turkey repair a strained relationship with the EU and some Western allies.

A high-level cooperation council between Greece and Turkey is set for early 2025.