Greece is ready to “reset” relations with neighbor Turkey in an effort to bypass decades-old disputes between the two NATO members, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Wednesday.
Mitsotakis held an hourlong meeting Wednesday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, and told reporters they had agreed to continue high-level contacts.
“Our problems have not been magically resolved,” Mitsotakis said. “But today’s meeting confirmed my intention and that of President Erdogan to reset Greek-Turkish relations.”
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Cabinet ministers from the two sides are due to meet after the summer in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki, Mitsotakis said.
Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, left, shakes hands with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before their meeting at the NATO Summit, in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 12, 2023. (Dimitris Papamitsos/Greek Prime Ministers Office via AP)
Wednesday’s talks were held a day after Turkey dropped its objections to Sweden’s membership in NATO and signaled further willingness to lower tension with Western nations, including Greece.
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Turkey and Greece remain at odds over maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean, a dispute that affects illegal migration into the European Union, mineral rights, and the projection of military power.
Both NATO members are seeking to upgrade their air forces with assistance from the United States: Ankara wants new and upgraded F-16 fighter jets, while Athens is keen to join the F-35 program.
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The defense ministers of Greece and Turkey, Nikos Dendias and Yasar Guler, held a separate meeting in Vilnius on Wednesday.