Waiting for Erdogan
As the Greek government is getting ready to host Turkey’s president and a number of his ministers in Athens on Thursday, it looks to the immediate future of bilateral relations with a sense of reserved optimism.
Athens is in a wait-and-see mode, but opts for an optimistic analysis of the situation following the positive comments by the Turkish president in recent days.
There are some encouraging signs: Ankara’s aggressive rhetoric has subsided, while there have been almost zero overflights following last February’s devastating earthquake that hit Turkey, and Greece’s emotional reaction and sincere offer of assistance.
Athens looks forward to a continuation of “calm waters” in the Aegean, and, on an issue with real and immediate consequences – that concern not only Greece, but Europe as a whole – maintaining the improved situation in recent months in regard to immigration flows.
In the wake of the Turkish president’s outburst in Berlin, no one could exclude Recep Tayyip Erdogan raising claims that divide the two countries, including the Muslim minority in Thrace.
Still, indications so far are that thorny issues will be avoided and the emphasis will be on cooperation agreements and maintaining a “win-win” approach.
No one is overoptimistic about achieving a breakthrough on the core of the Greek-Turkish issues. But as the attention of Erdogan is focused on Gaza – where there are disagreements with Greece – the Turkish president has no reason to create another thorn in his tense relationship with the West.
In fact, relations with Greece offer him an opportunity to show a different face at no cost.
In a rather unexpected twist for observers of the tense relationship between Turkey and Greece, one could argue that the latter is seen by Erdogan as one of the few members of the EU or NATO of some significance influence in the region that he may disagree with on a number of issues, but does not view as a cynical Western nation trying to impose itself on or take advantage of other countries.
