Greece–Turkey relations

Turkish and Greek diplomats met in Ankara on March 11 for consultations within the framework of ongoing political dialogue meetings between the two countries.

Deputy Foreign Minister Burak Akçapar led the Turkish delegation, while his Greek counterpart, Alexandra Papadopoulou, headed the Greek team.

Greece and Turkey reiterated their joint commitment to build on the existing positive atmosphere during a meeting between Greece's Deputy Foreign Minister Alexandra Papadopoulou and her Turkish counterpart Burak Akcapar on Monday in Ankara, as part of the political dialogue between the two countries' foreign ministries.

Greek-Turkish relations are going through a positive period, but it remains to be seen how long this can last, according to a high-ranking Turkish diplomat who spoke to Kathimerini at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum on Saturday.

In a show of defiance, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that Ankara will continue its efforts for the recognition of the northern part of Cyprus, which Turkey has occupied since its 1974 invasion, as a separate state from the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus. 

The channels of communication with Ankara are working, which is why tension was avoided at the most recent incident to take place near the uninhabited Imia islets in the southeastern Aegean, Greece's minister of maritime affairs and island policy, Christos Stylianides, tells Kathimerini.

The status of Orthodox Christians around the world will improve in the relatively near future due to a recent profound expansion of the efforts of the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

All of Athens’ texts reject Turkish claims and emphasize the legal validity of Greek positions

Cyprus could start producing its first natural gas as soon as 2026, and plans to participate in a high-powered electricity cable project linking the eastern Mediterranean to continental Europe, its energy minister told Reuters.

January 31, 1996. The peak of the Imia crisis leads to the crash of the Agusta Bell PN21 helicopter and the death of three Greek officers. Twenty-eight years later, Kathimerini attempts to shed light on the unknown background of the crisis and the causes that brought the two countries to the brink of war.

The obstacles to rekindling talks on the Cyprus issue, let alone to reaching a mutually acceptable settlement, were the focus of a meeting in Athens on Tuesday between María Ángela Holguín Cuellar, the UN chief's new personal envoy for Cyprus, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis.