Photographer: Sakis Mitrolidis / AFP / Getty Images
Photographer: Sakis Mitrolidis / AFP / Getty Images
Turkey and Greece will sit down to try to resolve differences over maritime boundaries and offshore energy resources for the first time since 2016.
Diplomats from the two countries will meet in Istanbul on January 25 to start “exploratory talks”, Turkish and Greek foreign ministers said Monday night. Greek officials have ruled out expanding the scope of the negotiations to other long-standing disputes with Turkey.
Disputed waters
Competing claims on the Eastern Mediterranean
Sources: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Anadolu Agency; Greek media reports; Flanders Marine Institute
The announcement comes just weeks after the The European Union has pledged to increase the number of Turkish authorities sanctioned for the country’s energy exploitation in the disputed waters of the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Cyprus, Greece and France this week proposed a list of potential new targets.
“I believe that exploratory negotiations with Greece will usher in a new era,” in relations, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told ambassadors of European Union member countries in Ankara on Tuesday. At the same time, Erdogan urged Greece to “avoid increasing tensions” in the eastern Mediterranean.
Ankara and Athens are engaged in a clash over conflicting interpretations of maritime boundaries. Competing claims of sovereignty over waters rich in hydrocarbon reserves led to a naval stalemate between Greece and Turkey in 2020.
Other The thorn in the relationship is Turkey’s continued control over northern Cyprus, which it conquered after an attempted coup in which a military junta in Athens tried to unite the island with Greece.
Cyprus and Greece say Turkey’s maritime claims violate its sovereignty and have repeatedly demanded that the EU impose comprehensive economic sanctions. So far, these demands have failed to obtain the unanimous support required of EU member states, many of whom fear an escalation that would break the bloc’s ties with Ankara.
EU promises to expand list of sanctions against Turkey in measured warning
Erdogan has eased his rhetoric of confrontation over the 27-nation bloc in recent months, saying his country wants a new chapter in its relations with the EU. His government also ordered an energy exploration vessel to limit its work to an area far from the Greek islands until June 15, after the ship’s operations angered Greece.
On Tuesday, Erdogan urged the EU to honor its promises to Turkey, including upgrading its customs union and waiving visas for Turkish citizens. He also asked the bloc to update a 2016 agreement by which Turkey stopped the flow of migrants to Europe in exchange for financial aid.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, speaking to EU ambassadors on Tuesday, said that he and Greece’s foreign minister, Nikolaos Dendias, had agreed to meet after the exploratory negotiations in Istanbul.
But a Greek diplomat said there was no such agreement for a meeting between ministers.
Conflicts that keep Turkey and Greece at odds: QuickTake
The weeks leading up up until negotiations will see some increased tensions. A senior diplomat in Brussels said that Cyprus, Greece and France jointly presented this week a list of other Turkish officials who they would like to see sanctioned by their country’s drilling operations off the coast of Cyprus.
The blacklist so far includes only two people and has no material consequences for Turkey’s economy. EU officials will begin to discuss the proposed additional listings next week, although it is unclear whether the most recent attempt will perform better than previous attempts.
Meanwhile, the Greek government has presented parliament with two bills that could infuriate Ankara.
The first aims to ratify the extension of the country’s western territorial waters in the Ionian Sea to 12 nautical miles out of six, something that Greece also maintains the right to do in the contested Aegean. The second proposal is the purchase of 18 Rafale fighters from France, after months of military maneuvers in the region. Both projects are expected to be voted on in the coming days.
– With the help of Paul Tugwell
(Updates with observation of the Greek diplomat in the 11th paragraph.)