Erdogan wants ‘new page’ with Athens

A few days before his arrival in Athens on December 7 to attend the the High Cooperation Council between Greece and Turkey, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan referred to a “new page” that will open in relations between the two countries.

In his comments on Wednesday to his AKP party’s parliamentary group, Erdogan outlined his expectations from his visit to Athens and his meeting with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. 

“Our line is clear. We do not see diplomacy as zero-sum, and neither do we see it as a game where one wins and the other loses… For us, diplomacy is an important opportunity for both sides to meet on a reasonable line and an opportunity that both sides win on the win-win principle,” he said, stressing that his government has the will to resolve the differences.

Erdogan stressedm “We believe that there is no problem that we cannot overcome when we sit down to talk mainly with our neighbors,” adding, “This is our approach for the visit we are planning to make to Greece on December 7.”

“There were differences yesterday and there will be differences tomorrow. But this reality does not mean that we will not be able to find a common denominator as two neighboring countries that share the same sea, the same climate, the same geography.”

With mutual trust there are many chapters in which Greece and Turkey can increase their cooperation, he stated.

For its part, Athens sees December 7 as another opportunity to maintain the positive climate of the past 10 months and welcomed Erdogan’s statements.

It is however under no illusions about the possibility of progress in the important bilateral disputes, but believes that broadening the positive agenda is possible. Nonetheless, it is willing to open up the difficult issues, maintaining its constant position to refer disputes over the continental shelf and the exclusive economic zone to The Hague.