Busy week of meetings for PM at the UN
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the most important of a number of crucial encounters that he and Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis will have on the sidelines of the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Government sources told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMNA) that the Mitsotakis-Erdogan meeting will take place on Tuesday at 11.40 a.m. local time (6.40 p.m. Greek time).
The meeting could either prove to be a turning point in the bilateral relations of the two uneasy NATO allies, or a continuation of the same, with political dialogue on the most important issues dividing them essentially stalled and with little prospect of a breakthrough, but with lower-level talks – the so-called positive agenda and confidence-building measures – continuing.
Mitsotskis will also meet with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, with the main item on the agenda being the restart of talks to resolve the division of Cyprus, now half a century old.
The Greek delegation is also focusing on Middle East developments: Mitsotakis’ meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will confirm the strong bilateral relationship, but Mitsotakis is also expected to tell his colleague that Greece’s upcoming role as a non-permanent Security Council member for two years starting January 1 will entail sometimes taking positions opposed by Israel.
Last week, Greece voted for a UN resolution calling essentially for Israel to leave Gaza and the West Bank and in favor of a two-state solution. Greece had given Israel a heads-up on its vote, noting that its position on Israel’s right to self-defense is unchanged.
