After a six-year hiatus in relations and a period of tensions, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan paid an official visit to Athens in December last year. Erdoğan attended the fifth meeting of the Türkiye-Greece High-Level Cooperation Council, during which parties agreed to cooperate in areas from education to energy and tourism.

On May 13, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to pay a return visit to Türkiye.

During his visit to Athens, Erdoğan said, "There is no problem that cannot be solved between us," and added that it was "natural for two neighbors who share the same landscape to have differences of opinion." This was indeed a reflection of Erdoğan’s realistic approach to politics and pragmatic leadership style when it comes to building relations with states that may have strong differences in approaches to bilateral disputes.

Beyond disagreements to win-win opportunities

It is no secret that Ankara and Athens have strong disagreements and that part of the common history and their solutions are very difficult, if not "impossible." From the Cyprus issue to disagreements over the continental shelf and delimitation of maritime zones to other historical issues related to minorities, there are many problems that diplomats can spend years trying to solve and will perhaps fail to find a solution for if the sole aim is to focus on the problematic areas. Yet, the glass is not completely empty. It is half full. In other words, while discussions, negotiations and attempts to find solutions to these problems can continue, these efforts should not act as barriers to areas where the two neighbors can have a win-win relationship. Tourism and the newly launched vise-free scheme for some Greek islands is a prime example of this win-win approach. Of course, there are more opportunity areas.

During his news conference in Athens, alongside Mitsotakis, Erdoğan highlighted the importance of the "will" to resolve the issues. "We want to turn the Aegean into a sea of peace and cooperation. We aspire to set an example to the whole world with the joint steps we will take as Türkiye and Greece."

The bilateral tensions had relatively eased following the deadly earthquake in southeastern Türkiye in February during which Greece sent rescuers and aid to Türkiye.

For his part, Mitsotakis had said, "I feel a historic debt to utilize the opportunity to bring the two nations side by side, as are our borders."

"We must live in peace, seek solutions to our differences," he added.

Here, it is important to highlight another remark Erdoğan made to journalists on his return from Athens: "Türkiye and Greece have enough knowledge, experience and determination to resolve their issues amicably without the need for the intervention of third parties."

This issue is particularly important as there existed a broken trust due to interference of third parties in issues between Ankara and Athen, particularly in areas of security and energy in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean, as well as in the Cyprus issue.

This is why this return visit, which facilitates direct and frank talks between the two neighbors, is significant amid the trust-rebuilding phase of the ties. Ankara has been the flag bearer of the normalization phase in the region. Of course, the post-Oct. 7 events and Israel’s genocidal acts in Gaza have reignited the tensions in the region. However, despite the developments, Greek-Turkish rapprochement and revisiting opportunity areas for normalization and cooperation is crucial for regional dynamics, stability and peace at a time when the world is on the brink of World War III. The normalization and cooperation will show that there is still a chance for diplomacy to overcome historic tensions.

According to my Greek journalist friends, Mitsotakis will be accompanied by Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis and diplomatic advisor to the prime minister, Maria Boura, and the current media atmosphere about the visit is generally calm and positive. Some Greek media outlets have highlighted Erdoğan's last statement had a meaning far beyond the hand of friendship towards Greece.

In my opinion, in the new phase, for both the Greek and Turkish sides, both official and in terms of the public, there is an expectation for more concrete steps for a sustainable future of cooperation.

Kariye Mosque

On Wednesday, Mitsotakis commented on this week’s opening of Kariye Mosque in Istanbul. The mosque, which was originally built as a church and later converted into a mosque during the reign of Sultan Bayezid II by Grand Vizier Hadım Ali Pasha (Atik Ali Pasha), was turned into a museum under the Museum Administration in 1948. However, it regained its status as a mosque in 2020 and the mosque building has gone under restoration for four years.

Expectedly, he publicly expressed his strong displeasure "for the completely unnecessary conversion of a historic Byzantine temple, the Monastery of Chora, into a mosque." He said he will "certainly raise this issue" with President Erdogan when they meet on Monday. The criticism is natural and these are part of the ongoing historic disagreements. Yet, the criticism, in my opinion, should not overshadow the potential in ties.

Commenting on the visit, Mitsotakis also said: "From here on, I believe that it is an opportunity to make an evaluation of this attempt at rapprochement between Greece and Türkiye, which on many levels has shown measurable results. We always approach our discussions with Türkiye with confidence and no illusions. Turkish positions will not change overnight. Despite this, I take it for granted that communication channels should always be open and that we can talk honestly and when we disagree, to disagree without tension and without it always causing escalations in the field, as we have unfortunately seen in the previous four years."

In a way, the positive approach is presented by Mitsotakis ahead of the visit as well.

Before writing my column this week, I also spoke to another Greek journalist friend of mine, Marinos Gasiamis, who covers military and diplomatic topics for Greece’s Mega TV and daily Ta Nea newspapers, on the upcoming visit.

"The ultimate goal for Athens, at least in the current phase, is for the channels between the two countries to remain open and at the top level, and to consolidate a setting of normality in bilateral relations," Marinos told me.

I asked him specifically about the Greek media’s approach to the visit. He said, "The Greek media are approaching the expected trip of the prime minister to Türkiye with a certain amount of hesitation as they estimate that the rise of the CHP with an expanded nationalist agenda on the one hand and 'extreme' Islamic parties on the other, will force the Turkish president to take a correspondingly tough stance."

From my point of view, the current atmosphere is very ripe for moving steps to the next level when it comes to ties between neighbors. From political leadership to business people to members of the media, this opportunity should be taken positively and turned into some concrete results. Another disaster is not needed to bring the two nations closer.