Photographer: Sakis Mitrolidis / AFP / Getty Images
Photographer: Sakis Mitrolidis / AFP / Getty Images
Turkey and Greece will sit down to try to address differences over maritime borders and marine energy resources for the first time since 2016.
Diplomats from the two countries will meet in Istanbul on January 25 to begin “exploratory talks,” the Turkish and Greek Foreign Ministry said Monday afternoon. Greek officials have ruled out extending the scope of negotiations to other long-standing disputes with Turkey.
Disputed waters
Competent claims on the eastern Mediterranean
Sources: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Anadolu Agency; Greek media reports; Maritime Institute of Flanders
The announcement comes a few weeks after the The European Union has pledged to expand the number of Turkish officials sanctioned for the country’s energy exploration in the disputed waters of the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Cyprus, Greece and France proposed a list of possible new targets this week.
“I believe that the exploratory talks with Greece will be the harbinger of a new era,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told ambassadors of European Union member states in Ankara on Tuesday. At the same time, Erdogan urged Greece to “avoid fueling tensions” in the eastern Mediterranean.
Ankara and Athens are locked in a confrontation over conflicting interpretations of maritime borders. Competent claims of sovereignty over waters rich in hydrocarbon reserves led to a naval confrontation between Greece and Turkey in 2020.
Another The backbone of the relationship is Turkey’s continued control over northern Cyprus, which it took after a coup attempt in which a military junta in Athens tried to unite the island with Greece.
Cyprus and Greece claim that Turkey’s maritime claims violate their sovereignty and have repeatedly demanded that the EU impose radical economic sanctions. So far, these demands have not garnered the required unanimous support from EU member states, many of whom fear an escalation that will break the bloc’s ties with Ankara.
The EU promises to expand the list of sanctions on Turkey in a measured warning
Erdogan has in recent months reduced his mostly confrontational rhetoric towards the 27-nation bloc, saying his country wants a new chapter in its relations with the EU. His government also ordered an energy exploration ship to limit its work to an area far from the Greek islands until June 15, after the ship’s operations angered Greece.
On Tuesday, Erdogan urged the EU to deliver on its promises to Turkey, including updating its customs union and waiving visa requirements for Turkish citizens. He also called on the bloc to update a 2016 agreement by which Turkey halted the flow of migrants to Europe in exchange for financial aid.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who addressed EU ambassadors on Tuesday, said he and Greek Foreign Minister Nikolaos Dendias had agreed to meet after the exploratory talks in Istanbul.
But a Greek diplomat said there had been no agreement for a meeting between ministers.
Conflicts between Turkey and Greece: QuickTake
The previous weeks Until negotiations will see some tensions rise. A senior diplomat in Brussels said Cyprus, Greece and France this week jointly presented a list of other Turkish officials who would like to be sanctioned for their country’s drilling operations off the coast of Cyprus.
The blacklist so far includes only two people and has no material consequences for Turkey’s economy. EU officials will begin debating the proposed additional listings next week, although it is unclear whether the latest impetus will be better than previous attempts.
Meanwhile, the Greek government has tabled two bills in parliament that could anger Ankara.
The first wants to ratify the extension of the country’s western territorial waters to the Ionian Sea to 12 nautical miles out of six, which Greece also retains the right to do in the disputed Aegean. The second proposal is to buy 18 Rafale fighter jets from France after months of military sand in the region. The two bills are expected to be voted on in the coming days.
– With the assistance of Paul Tugwell
(Updates with observation of the Greek diplomat in the 11th paragraph.)