Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met his Greek counterpart George Gerapetritis on Thursday on the sidelines of an EU meeting in Brussels.
Fidan is attending the EU’s informal meeting on foreign policy for the first time in five years, hoping to make progress on improving Ankara’s rocky ties with the bloc, a source from his ministry said.
Gerapetritis underlined the importance of Türkiye’s attendance, saying, “Greece fundamentally supports Türkiye’s advance in Europe.”
Ankara and Athens are at loggerheads over a myriad of issues, from the ethnically divided island of Cyprus to the delimitation of maritime zones in the Aegean.
“Resuming negotiations to resolve the Cyprus issue with the U.N.’s initiative is very important for us,” the Greek minister said.
Fidan also met with his Spanish counterpart Jose Manuel Albares and Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel, ministry sources said.
Türkiye’s two-decade-old bid to join the bloc has been frozen due to what Ankara calls “politicized issues” alongside policy disputes in the Eastern Mediterranean and Cyprus.
At the same time, the bloc depends on the help of NATO member Türkiye, particularly on migration issues.
Tensions in 2019 between EU-member Greece and Türkiye led to Brussels threatening sanctions against Ankara and cutting off some dialogue channels. Ties have improved since 2021, with high-level talks restarting.
Ankara saw the EU’s invitation to Fidan as an effort to seek dialogue, the Foreign Ministry source said. Deeper ties “with the understanding that Türkiye is a candidate country” would benefit both sides, they added.
Fidan will convey Türkiye’s expectation that the “necessary will must be shown and concrete steps must be taken” to strengthen ties, the source said.
The meeting will include discussions on visas as well as modernizing the EU-Türkiye Customs Union, the source added.
Ankara has been calling for these talks to start for months, but little progress has been made.
Fidan will hold separate talks with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and the bloc’s commissioner for enlargement, Oliver Varhely, as well as his Greek, Spanish, Belgian and Slovak counterparts, the source said.
Other European foreign ministers too welcomed Türkiye’s participation at the EU meeting.
Speaking to the press at the doorstep of the meeting, Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze said: “It is important for the EU to have a constructive and open relationship with Türkiye.”
Noting that Türkiye is also a NATO ally, Braze praised its various mediation efforts, including the release of the Ukrainian prisoners of war from Russian captivity.
Also speaking to the media, Romanian Foreign Minister Luminita Odobescu said: “Türkiye is a candidate country (of the EU), and a key partner for the EU in several areas like security, energy, migration.”
“This is why Romania constantly pleaded to have a very balanced approach, mutually beneficial relations between Türkiye and the EU, based on a constructive and positive agenda but also in line with the EU Council conclusions,” she added.
