PM ‘under no illusions’ about challenges in Greek-Turkish relations
The limited expectations for substantial progress in Greek-Turkish relations were signified on Sunday by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who noted that “the core of Turkish revisionism has not changed” ahead of his meeting with Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Mitsotakis will be in New York between September 22 and 26. “I have never been under any illusions about the difficulties of our rapprochement with Turkey,” Mitsotakis said during a press conference in Thessaloniki.
“I clearly acknowledge that the core of Turkish revisionism has not changed. The ‘Blue Homeland’ remains on the table and constitutes a challenge to the country’s sovereign rights. This is an issue that I will continue to raise with Erdogan,” Mitsotakis said, noting that he is keeping the positive aspects, referring to the better management of migration in cooperation with Turkey and the substantial disappearance of airspace violations in the last 19 months.
The “Blue Homeland” is, as the prime minister underlined, the main reason that does not allow the Greek-Turkish talks to enter the core of the dispute with Turkey, namely the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and the continental shelf.
The Greek PM also referred to the large investments in defense deterrence as a consequence of Turkey’s stance, stressing that if the issues with Turkey had been resolved “there would be no need to invest the significant sums we are investing in strengthening the deterrent capability of the armed forces.”
The quotes were picked by a section of the Turkish press (e.g. Sabah) to highlight Mitsotakis’ derision of the “Blue Homeland,” which in Turkey even the opposition parties perceive as a necessary national policy, regardless of whether they agree with the way Erdogan’s government is moving on the issue.
