Greece–Turkey border

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.

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.

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.

Greek diplomatic sources have reacted to controversial remarks made by Turkey's foreign minister regarding outstanding issues between the two Aegean neighbors. 

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis paid tribute on Wednesday to the three Greek Navy officers who lost their lives during the Imia crisis, which brought Greece and Turkey to the brink of war 28 years ago.

Bulgarian border police successfully prevented approximately 180,000 attempts by migrants to enter the country illegally in 2023, according to recent data released by the Interior Ministry on Wednesday.

Despite being an election year, 2023 did not see any turbulence in Greek-Turkish relations. Indeed, it was probably the calmest year since the abortive coup in Turkey in 2016.

Washington has expressed its support for Greece-Turkey talks, following a meeting on Thursday in Athens between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The Athens meeting between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, anticipated with cautious optimism by Greek media, has for the most part also made a positive impression on their Turkish counterparts.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and visiting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated their commitment to "calm waters" in the Aegean and agreed on the need for a gradual transition to a next stage, where difficult bilateral differences can be discussed without the threat of a total collapse of Greece-Turkey relations.