Satisfaction and realism about Erdogan

Supporters of People's Alliance's presidential candidate Recep Tayyip Erdogan, attend an elections campaign rally in Istanbul, Turkey, on May 12, 2023. [Khalil Hamra/AP]

The message coming out of Athens after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said via Kathimerini on Thursday that he wants good relations with Greece was that Athens' intentions after the elections to hold discussions with Ankara and any president of Turkey remain sincere, without, however, cultivating naive expectations that Turkey's foreign policy will change in the long run.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who during the debate a few days earlier noted that "Turkish revisionism, as expressed by the 'Blue Homeland' doctrine, is deeply systemically registered in the DNA of all Turkish parties," appeared pragmatic when referring to Greek-Turkish relations in an interview with The Associated Press. More specifically, he noted that the foreign policy of countries "does not change from one day to the next."

"I would hope that the next Turkish government would...

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