ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th July, 2023) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis may hold another meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September, Turkish media reported on Friday.
On Wednesday, Mitsotakis said that Erdogan had been sincere at their meeting in Vilnius in reciprocating his intention to restart relations between Greece and Turkey.
The Hurriyet daily reported that Erdogan will visit Greece after a nearly six-year hiatus and together with Mitsotakis he will co-chair the High Level Cooperation Council in the Greek city of Thessaloniki, the first in nearly seven and a half years. Negotiations on confidence-building measures in the Aegean Sea will also reportedly be resumed after three and a half years of pause.
The newspaper pointed to the contrast between the two leaders' previous four meetings and the meeting in Vilnius, which, it said, demonstrated good will.
NATO allies Greece and Turkey have repeatedly found themselves on the brink of armed conflict due to territorial disputes, primarily in the Aegean. Erdogan refused to communicate with Mitsotakis in May 2022, accusing him of violating agreements. However, immediately after the devastating earthquake that occurred in Turkey on February 6, Mitsotakis called Erdogan and vowed assistance in overcoming its consequences. In turn, Turkey expressed condolences after a railroad accident in Greece.
