Erdoğan and Mitsotakis to meet at NATO summit in Vilnius

Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will meet next month on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Vilnius, Mitsotakis’ office said a day after he won the national elections. Mitsotakis was sworn in for a second term as prime minister on Monday after a resounding election victory.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was among the leaders who congratulated Mitsotakis. The statement issued by the Presidency Directorate of Communications also said: “During the meeting, it was expressed that the fact that both countries have strong governments in office that have renewed the trust of their people is an opportunity for the future of bilateral relations.” Historic foes, NATO allies Greece and Turkey have been at odds for decades over issues ranging from maritime zones in the eastern Mediterranean to the ethnically divided island of Cyprus. It is therefore noteworthy that the new Greek cabinet includes new names in the foreign and defense ministries, which are the most frequently mentioned ministries in relations with Turkey.

Former Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias has been appointed Minister of Defense and Yorgos Yerapetritis has been appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. Yerapetritis is a politician known for his statements during periods of tension between Ankara and Athens over the past few years. In late 2020, he claimed that Greece’s territorial waters in the Aegean would be extended to 12 miles “when the time is ripe”. Furthermore, following Turkey’s move to carry out seismic research in the eastern Mediterranean in 2020, he said that the Turkish ship was being monitored by the Greek navy and that they were “fully prepared politically and operationally”, which further escalated tensions between the parties.