Athens, 23 April 2024 (TDI): Turkish and Greek delegations meet in Athens at the Ministry of National Defense to consider Conference Building Measures (CBM) on Monday.
The meeting was co-chaired by Deputy Minister Ambassador Burak Akcapar and Ambassador Haris Lalacos, the two delegations engaged in discussions aimed at fostering trust and cooperation between the nations.
Joining them are senior and high-ranking officers from both countries’ Armed Forces, highlighting the importance of military diplomacy in this dialogue.
Against the backdrop of longstanding tensions and recent escalations, this meeting holds immense promise for de-escalating tensions and paving the way for constructive engagement between the two nations.
These CBMs, coupled with a positive agenda, are pivotal milestones in the ongoing Greek-Turkish dialogue, with notable attention drawn to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ upcoming visit to Turkey and his scheduled meeting with Recep Tayyip Erdogan on May 13 in Ankara.
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However, this meeting had a recent “hiccup” stemming from Ankara’s objection to Greece’s intent to establish undersea marine parks in the central Aegean and the Ionian Sea. Athens rebukes Ankara’s reaction as “completely unjustified.”
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The two regional rivals are NATO allies but have been at odds for decades over a series of issues, including territorial claims in the Aegean and drilling rights in the Mediterranean, and have come to the brink of war three times in the last 50 years.
A dispute over energy exploration rights in 2020 led to the two countries’ warships facing off in the Mediterranean.
The Greek prime minister said the recent improvement in relations between Greece and Turkey was “undeniable and measurable,” but that this did not mean Turkey had changed its positions on the delineation of maritime zones in the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean.
“These positions remain positions which are deeply problematic for our country,” Mitsotakis said.
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