PM braces for busy week in New York
The next steps in Greek-Turkish relations will be at stake in a meeting on Tuesday between Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
The two leaders will review the status of relations, which have recently been defined by a number of disruptions, most notably the Kasos crisis in July over the Greece-Cyprus electrical interconnection (GSI) surveys.
The question is essentially whether Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Alexandra Papadopoulou and her Turkish counterpart, Mehmet Kemal Bozay, will engage in substantive consultations on the main differences between Greece and Turkey, namely maritime zones and the continental shelf, in the context of the political dialogue, which has included exploratory contacts over the past year and a half.
Meanwhile, Kathimerini has learned that an agreement was reached on Friday for a meeting between Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.
Greek-Chinese contacts at the present stage are of particular importance, given the development on multiple levels of the economic relations between the two countries.
Moreover, China is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, in which Greece will participate as a non-permanent member as of January 1 for two years. Greece’s role is the focus of the multiple contacts that both Mitsotakis and Gerapetritis will have in New York.
The current international situation and the developing rifts among various groups of nations within the United Nations will make it extremely difficult for Greece to maintain a balance.
The Security Council itself is currently essentially divided (permanent members are China, France, Russia, the US and the UK), making its functioning extremely difficult, especially when it comes to resolutions or decisions related to conflicts.
While in New York, Mitsotakis will have bilateral meetings with a number of leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa of Bahrain and Crown Prince Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah of Kuwait.
