Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Friday argued Türkiye and Greece must work together to resolve their issues, which he said are not limited to disagreements over maritime boundaries and jurisdiction in the eastern Mediterranean.
Speaking at a news conference in Athens alongside his Greek counterpart George Gerapetritis, Fidan said the two countries were making an effort to understand each other better on critical issues and stressed the need to act “realistically” and “correctly diagnose” their problems in the Aegean.
Neighbours Greece and Türkiye, both NATO allies but historic foes, have long been at odds over issues including where their continental shelves start and end, energy resources, migration, flights over the Aegean Sea and the ethnically partitioned island of Cyprus.
“We can contribute to the mutual welfare of our people with a win-win policy, especially in this challenging region,” Fidan said, referring to ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Palestine.
“Türkiye remains firm on its stance that sharing must be fair in the Eastern Mediterranean,” he added.
An agreement on where their maritime zones begin and end is important for determining rights over possible gas reserves and power infrastructure schemes.
Tensions have eased in recent years between historical rivals and both countries agreed last year to reboot their relations, pledging to keep open channels of communication and work on the issues that have kept them apart.
Friday’s meeting was an attempt to explore whether there is room for resolving the maritime dispute, which has been largely frozen for long years since neither side is willing to budge on their terms.
Türkiye, which has the longest continental coastline in the Eastern Mediterranean, rejects the maritime boundary claims of Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration, arguing their excessive claims violate the sovereign rights of both Türkiye and the Turkish Cypriots in the region.
For his part, Gerapetritis acknowledged the “large gap” between Turkish and Greek positions on the issue and said, “We are determined to discuss and narrow this gap as much as possible.”
“Greece and Türkiye still disagree on the extent of issues needing to be tackled over the designation of their maritime boundaries, but talks will continue on the subject,” Gerapetritis assured.
Gerapetritis said it was an initial approach to a “tough and crucial issue” and added that the next round of Greece-Türkiye talks will take place in Athens on Dec. 2-3.
Fidan also repeated Ankara’s view that a federation model to resolve the dispute over Cyprus was no longer viable, calling for a two-state solution.
He also said Türkiye wanted to deepen cooperation with Greece on irregular migration and counterterrorism while increasing cooperation on tourism and cultural affairs.
Fidan revealed that the annual volume of Turkish-Greek trade would surpass $6 billion by this year’s end and confirmed that the construction of the second bridge on the northern land border would start in the coming period.
Both ministers confirmed preparations were underway for the Greek-Turkish high-level cooperation council planned for early 2025 in Ankara.
