Türkiye and Greece strive to keep the momentum in their improving relations though obstacles remain in resolving outstanding issues.
A recent visit by Türkiye’s top diplomat to Athens and an upcoming visit by the Greek prime minister may further contribute to the momentum. The Greek side showed their willingness to continue when the ruling party expelled a former prime minister opposing the thaw in ties.
Türkiye, on the other hand, was visibly angered over an EU move that gave its territorial waters to Greece, although on a map.
The Greek government said Saturday it has expelled former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras from the New Democracy ruling party after he criticized the government for being too conciliatory with Türkiye.
Samaras had called on Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to oust the country’s foreign minister for allegedly giving in to Turkish demands in ongoing talks between the countries dubbed “calm waters.” Samaras, a hardline conservative who served as prime minister from 2012 to 2015, has in recent months openly criticized the government for being too soft with Türkiye as well as for pursuing a so-called woke agenda in domestic social matters.
“The permanent appeasement of Turkish challenges is not a centrist policy. In this case, those who declare that in the name of ‘friendship and tranquillity’ with Türkiye they don’t mind ‘being labeled an appeaser’ must be sent home,” Samaras said in an interview with To Vima newspaper.
Greek government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis said in a statement Saturday afternoon that Samaras “in his last interview, expressed his total disagreement with the whole of the current government policy. Moreover, in an unchivalrous and provocative manner, he adopted extreme lies, distorting statements by the foreign minister that have been repeatedly and comprehensively clarified.”
The statement said that with his comments, Samaras has “placed himself” out of the New Democracy party. “No one has the right to gamble with the stability of the country in these troubled times,” it said.
Samaras had already been expelled from the party in 1993 when as foreign minister he took a hardline stance in a dispute with North Macedonia over the name of Greece’s northern neighbor.
After causing the fall of the government of then-Prime Minister Konstantinos Mitsotakis, father of the current prime minister, and forming his own party, he returned to New Democracy in 2004 and became the president of the party in 2009. He was elected prime minister after the 2012 general elections. Samaras, who does not hold a Cabinet position in the current government, said Saturday that his expulsion resulted from “arrogance and an obvious lack of composure” from Mitsotakis.
Also on Saturday, Türkiye declared the EU’s Maritime Spatial Planning maps of the Aegean and Mediterranean seas to be “null and void” with “no legal effect.”
“We will not allow the violation of Türkiye’s rights with this planning,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“The EU has no authority to comment on maritime disputes between sovereign states. The EU’s involvement in such initiatives makes it more difficult to resolve these disputes,” the statement added.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry also said unilateral attempts by the EU “undermine the efforts to find a comprehensive, just and durable solution to the interrelated Aegean issues,” emphasizing that problems should be solved “on the basis of international law and good neighborliness.”
Türkiye has repeatedly stressed that its issues with Greece, its Aegean neighbor, should be handled between the two countries, not through the EU or any third countries. The said maps show the borders of so-called Greece’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) extending the full 200 nautical miles beyond its territorial waters.
Over the weekend, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the two countries had complex issues. He agreed that domestic politics had an impact on the stand of both countries on relations but they were searching for a solution to their problems that would be mutually consented and not harm Türkiye’s interests.
Fidan told broadcaster A Haber that they focused on frank discussions and de-escalating the tensions in this new process with Greece. He noted that they were working on a joint project with Greece within the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).