Published in the Jerusalem Post, 27 September 2023
It all began with the
summer elections in 2023. By the end of
May Turkey’s Recep Tayyyip Erdogan had won his follow-up poll and was
re-installed in the presidential palace.
At the end of June Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was
re-elected in a resounding victory at the polls. The two nationalist leaders
were safely back at the helm. In a move virtually unthinkable only a year
before, Erdogan – an incarnation of the “big bad wolf” to many Greeks – phoned Mitsotakis
to congratulate him.
This amiable gesture did
not come completely out of the blue.
Following the devastating Turkey-Syria earthquake in February, Greece
had swiftly responded with assistance, and as a result a relatively friendly
climate had been generated. This had
been strengthened when, after a deadly train accident in Greece on May 1 that killed
at least 32 people, Erdogan extended his condolences. His action was echoed by many Turkish citizens
who offered support and solidarity via social media.
During their chat on the
phone, Erdogan and Mitsotakis, realizing that they would both be attending the
NATO summit scheduled to take place in Lithuania in July, agreed to meet on the
sidelines for an informal discussion.
That discussion duly
took place, and proved surprisingly productive.
The two leaders produced a “roadmap” intended to expand the developing
rapprochement between their nations.
They agreed that their foreign ministers would hold talks aimed at
fostering confidence-building measures, and that the long-suspended High Level
Cooperation Council (HLCC) would be revived.
This was the background to the meeting on September 5 between Fidan and Gerapetritis. During their subsequent media conference Fidan thanked Greece for its assistance after the unprecedented earthquakes that had killed more than 50,000 people, and said that Turkey was "ready to help" as Greece battles weeks of deadly wildfires.
Turning to the Turkey-Greece rapprochement they were
initiating, Gerapetritis said:
"We don't have our
heads in the clouds. We know that the…passions
passed on from generation to generation cannot be erased with one stroke. But
we have the disposition and the will to invest in candor and mutual
understanding so as to seek common ground, break with established opinions and,
where there are disagreements, at least not have them lead to
crises."
Fidan sang from the same
hymn-sheet.
"We have entered a
new and positive era in our relations with Greece," he said. "We are
ready to continue dialogue with our neighbor Greece without any preconditions,
and to develop our relations in all fields based on common interests."
Not everyone believed
him. Only three years earlier the two
nations had been on the brink of military conflict over sovereignty in areas of
the Mediterranean, and related rights to drill for oil in the disputed ocean
zones. The Greek and Turkish navies were shadowing each other in the Aegean and
the Eastern Mediterranean for much of the summer of 2020, after Turkey sent
a survey ship to prospect for oil and gas in waters Greece claims as its
jurisdiction under international law.
The dispute rumbled on,
exacerbated in Erdogan’s eyes by the emerging Greek, Cypriot, Israeli and
Egyptian oil and gas alliance in the Eastern Mediterranean, backed by the US. The relationship soured further when in May 2022
Mitsotakis, during an address to the US Congress, joined a campaign to deny US
military jets to Turkey. Erdogan,
furious at the Greek prime minister, vowed never to speak to him again.
Since then Erdogan has
taken steps to repair relations with both Israel and Egypt, while Turkey’s
standing in Washington has been greatly strengthened by Erdogan’s agreement to
allow Sweden to join NATO. As part of that
deal, the US Congress has promised Turkey dozens of F-16s, with Greece also
getting fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets.
The two foreign ministers confirmed that their respective leaders planned to carry the initiative forward by meeting later in September, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. On Erdogan’s shopping list is his wish to revive Turkey's accession track to the EU. A better relationship with Greece could help that. High among other unresolved issues is delineating the two nations’ exclusive economic zones in the Mediterranean, while way out on the horizon is even the possible reunification of Cyprus.
Meanwhile on September 20 the long-delayed meeting between Erdogan and Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu took place at Turkish House in New York, when they came face to face for the first time. They discussed regional and international issues, including normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and decided to continue advancing bilateral relations in trade, economic matters and energy. The word from the meeting is that Erdogan plans to visit Jerusalem as soon as October.
Published in the Jerusalem Post, and in the Jerusalem Post on-line titled: "Are Turkey and Greece allies now?", 27 September 2023:
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