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After a few days of calm or Recep Tayyip Erdogan it resumed provocative behavior, undermining de-escalation efforts and obstructing the initiation of exploratory contacts between Greece and Turkey.
Withdrawal of Cypriot EEZ de Yavouz raised expectations of a change in attitude from Erdogan, while the opening of part of Varosia beach in Famagusta and aggressive reports in Greece have raised concerns in Athens.
At the Maximos Palace closely monitor Erdogan’s movements and he hopes how the Turkish president will act in the next period.
The first Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, during his speech at the “Empress Theofano” award ceremony to the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen condemned Turkey’s decision for the extension of the entry permit to the Varosia waterfront in Cyprus.
“This decision is a flagrant violation of the UN Security Council Resolutions and Greece will support all relevant efforts of the Republic of Cyprus,” said Mr. Mitsotakis.
At the same time, he sent a new message to Brussels, saying that “inaction intimidates uninvited third parties who rush to act in areas where Europe has strategic interests.”
However, recent events are blurring the picture regarding the timing of the exploratory contacts to begin, with Athens unhurried and government sources noting that the summit gave Erdogan until December to stop provoking. “The Greek side is ready to start the dialogue, if the Turkish president is prudent,” the same circles say.
Meanwhile today, Thursday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias, and its Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Tsavousoglu He will travel to Bratislava, Slovakia to speak at the GlobSec 2020 security forum. Turkey’s Foreign Minister will speak today in a debate on Turkey’s role in regional and global security.
Nikos Dendias will be a speaker at the same forum, after Mevlut Tsavousoglou.
The “unknown x” is whether there will be a meeting between the two men. Government sources indicate that so far no date has been set between the two foreign ministers, however there is a high probability that a four against four will occur in the last minute.
In the relevant announcement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs notes the following:
As part of the GLOBSEC 2020 Bratislava Forum, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will participate in a round table on “The EU’s global leadership in the post-Covid era”. Apart from the work, Nikos Dendias will hold bilateral meetings ”.
The latest announcement proposal may hide the news that Dendias and Tsavousoglou will speak for the first time in many months.
Once the appointment is made, it is certain that the central issue will be the resumption of exploratory contacts between Greece and Turkey at the level of delegations of the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs.
It should be noted that after the announcement on September 22 of the resumption of informal Greek-Turkish consultations no date has been set yet for the completion of the 61st round of exploratory contacts.
Obviously, even Nikos Dendias’ failure to meet Mevlut Tsavousoglou in the Slovak capital will be news. Because this possibility will show what is the real level of relations between Athens and Ankara today, after the great crisis of the summer with the Oruc Reis investigations in an area of the Greek continental shelf and despite international efforts to de-escalate and return to Turkey. at the dialogue table.
The possible meeting of Messrs Dendia and Tsavousoglou is awaited with great interest. If carried out, it will be Nikos Dendias’s first conversation with Mevlüt Tsavousoglou in months.
In this case, it is very likely that they will discuss the possibility of resuming exploratory contacts between Greece and Turkey. at the level of the delegations of the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs.
This is because, following the announcement on 22 September of the resumption of informal Greek-Turkish consultations, it has not yet been possible to set a date for the 61st round of exploratory contacts.
