Spokesman confirms Mitsotakis-Erdogan meeting, says Athens has ‘no delusions’

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on March 13, the Greek government spokesman confirmed on Tuesday.

“Mitsotakis has always been open to a meeting with the Turkish president, even more so given the situation in Ukraine,” Giannis Oikonomou said, adding Greece and Turkey “face common challenges despite their differences.” 

“These challenges need to be dealt with in a logic of solving problems and not of adding new ones,” he said.

Oikonomou said that the prime minister would approach the meeting “with a positive attitude,” adding that Greek positions are “based on international law.”

“We obviously have no delusions,” he said, adding that the positions expressed on Monday by the spokesperson of Turkish ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Omer Celik “cannot form a basis for negotiations.”