What strategy do we want to pursue?

It is not enough that we vaguely seek a peaceful settlement of Greek-Turkish disputes; we also must have a concrete strategy as to how to get there. For example, there is a major difference of opinion about what constitutes a Greek-Turkish dispute. Athens says that the only issue dividing the two countries is the delineation of their continental shelves. Ankara, on the other hand, has raised a wide range of issues in the hope that in the end it will gain more than it is entitled to. Will we risk going to court and having Turkey pull out anything it likes from its mixed bag of claims?

This was the key problem with Greece's strategy at the Helsinki summit in 1999 (which led to abandoning the idea of a judicial settlement in 2004). We must not repeat the same mistake. Maintaining moderate rhetoric and avoiding outlining our rights as determined by international law do not...

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