The “Political Dialogue” meeting between Türkiye and Greece took place in a positive atmosphere, as the two sides pledged to further enhance cooperation, a joint statement issued after the meeting said Tuesday.
The statement, published by the Foreign Ministry, said that the two sides, represented by Deputy Foreign Minister and Director for EU Affairs Ambassador Mehmet Kemal Bozay and Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Alexandra Papadopoulou, discussed bilateral relations and recent developments and expectations ahead of the 6th High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council meeting scheduled for January or February.
The meeting took place in a positive atmosphere and the two sides reiterated their joint commitment to further enhance bilateral and international cooperation, the ministry said.
They also discussed regional developments, as well as Türkiye-EU relations, the ministry added.
Greek and Turkish diplomats attended the third meeting of the Political Dialogue initiative in Athens. The meetings aim to navigate two neighbors through a complex process of friendship after years of hostilities.
After a long period of tensions marked by disputes over irregular migration, the Cyprus dispute, energy exploration and territorial sovereignty in the Aegean, Türkiye and Greece have been taking confidence-building steps for a fragile normalization of their relations, which moved into a new chapter with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s landmark visit to Athens in December. During the visit, the sides announced a friendship declaration, 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.
While officials on both sides have expressed commitment to maintaining the positive climate, the issues are longstanding and deep-rooted, and neither side expects the process to be without turbulence, particularly in the Aegean, where Turkish and Greek jets often scuffled until very recently.
Earlier in January, Ankara and Athens reached respective deals with Washington for fighter jets, raising concerns about fresh skirmishes in the region.