As ties between the two neighbors revived following a period of hostilities, Greece is keen on developing them more.
Greece seeks to build on recent positive steps taken with Türkiye, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Thursday. Referring to the ongoing thaw between the two countries since last February, when twin earthquakes caused severe casualties and destruction in southeastern Türkiye, he said, "I'm not naive. We have seen dramatic changes in Türkiye's politics in recent years, but I want to be optimistic and I want us to build on the positive steps that both countries have taken in recent months," during a discussion with Ravi Agrawal, the editor-in-chief of Foreign Policy magazine, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
He said the improved relations between the two NATO allies have yielded prompt and concrete results, including visa facilitation for Turkish citizens for 10 Greek islands in the northern Aegean for up to seven days and the decreased flow of irregular migrants to Greece. Even if Greece and Türkiye do not resolve the issue of demarcation of the continental shelf and economic exclusive zone, which he called the only major problem between the countries, they should be able to coexist and focus on a positive agenda, said Mitsotakis.
On Dec. 7, 2023, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan paid a landmark visit to Greece after the two neighboring countries experienced a tumultuous relationship in recent years. Erdoğan said in a news conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens that there is no issue between Türkiye and Greece that cannot be resolved and that they want to "turn the Aegean into a sea of peace and cooperation."
Türkiye and Greece announced the Athens Declaration on Friendly Relations and Good-Neighbourliness, in which they stressed that they are committed to fostering friendly relations, mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and understanding and seeking resolution to any dispute between in line with international law.
The two countries have been at odds for decades over a series of issues, from territorial water claims over the Aegean to the rights of the Turkish minority in Greece. Ties were largely restored to the level they were in the early years of the Republic of Türkiye under the Tsipras government in Athens. Erdoğan was the first sitting Turkish president to visit Greece in decades when he traveled there in 2017. Relations deteriorated over irregular migration and hydrocarbon exploration rights in the Eastern Mediterranean and maritime zones under the incumbent Mitsotakis government. However, the sides recently extended an olive branch to each other again.
Turning to Israel's ongoing attacks on Gaza since Oct. 7, Mitsotakis reiterated the country's concern over the growing number of civilian casualties in the enclave, which is increasingly shared by the international community. Drawing attention to the over 10,000 children who are among the casualties, Mitsotakis said: "I don't think that Israel is strategically interested in creating a new generation of orphans." Also mentioning the escalating tensions in the Red Sea, which included missile and drone attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on commercial shipping and naval vessels and airstrikes by the U.S. and U.K. in response, he said it is a significant problem that not only concerns Greece but also the global shipping industry.
