Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, one of the two architects of improving relations with Ankara, still does not believe that they can resolve their problems with Türkiye – which is why they needed more investments in its armed forces, the Greek leader was quoted by media outlets on Sunday.
He was addressing reporters’ questions at a Thessaloniki International Fair on relations with Türkiye ahead of his planned meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York. He said challenges existed in the rapprochement process with Türkiye, but they had a realist approach and focused on positive developments. He said Türkiye’s views on the "Blue Homeland" have not changed, which was a challenge for defining Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean maritime zones. "Blue Homeland" refers to Türkiye’s doctrine for its sovereign waters in the said maritime zones, which have long been a source of dispute with Athens. Both Türkiye and Greece had accused each other of violating their maritime borders.
“We wouldn’t need a major part of our investments to boost deterrent power of our armed forces if we believed that we would resolve our problems with Türkiye for the next few decades,” he said.
After a long period of tensions marked by disputes over irregular migration, the Cyprus dispute, energy exploration and territorial sovereignty in the Aegean, Türkiye and Greece have been taking confidence-building steps for a fragile normalization of their relations, which moved into a new chapter with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s landmark visit to Athens in December.
During the visit, the sides announced a friendship declaration, visa facilitation for Turkish citizens for 10 Greek islands in the northern Aegean for up to seven days and the decreased flow of irregular migrants to Greece.
While officials on both sides have expressed commitment to maintaining the positive climate, the issues are longstanding and deep-rooted, and neither side expects the process to be without turbulence, particularly in the Aegean, where Turkish and Greek jets often scuffled until very recently.
Earlier in January, Ankara and Athens reached respective deals with Washington for fighter jets, raising concerns about fresh skirmishes in the region.
Ankara has repeatedly warned its neighbor against entering an arms race with Türkiye, particularly on building a military presence on the disputed Aegean islands since the 1960s, in violation of postwar treaties.
Greece's purchase of F-35 fighter jets from the U.S. and the upping of defense budgets are meant to counter the protection of Turkish interests in the Eastern Mediterranean. Greece says it needs to defend the islands against a potential attack from Türkiye, but Turkish officials said continued militarization of the islands could lead to Ankara questioning their ownership.
