Ankara and Athens will discuss increasing flows of irregular migration, Greece's migration and asylum minister, Dimitris Keridis, said on Sunday.
Keridis will meet Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya in Ankara on Oct. 23.
"Personal relations always help. But our job is something bigger than personal relations here. It is how to serve our two peoples as well as peace and stability in the region," Keridis told Anadolu Agency (AA) on ties with Yerlikaya.
"After a long period, it seems now that there is a lot of convergences (between Greece and Türkiye)," he said.
Improvement in relations is also reflected in the cooperation between the two countries' competent authorities against irregular migration, said Keridis.
Asked whether the rest of the EU, particularly the Western and Northern European countries, share Greece's perspective on the need for better cooperation with Türkiye on that issue, he said, "The truth of the matter is Türkiye has been bearing a big burden in that regard, with the Syrian refugees and others. And Europe is here to help with the support of Greece provided that we have the cooperation."
Keridis drew attention to irregular migration as a crucial problem not only for Greece, Türkiye, the Balkans, or southern European countries but for all of Europe.
It threatens the stability, security and democracy in Europe, he said, noting that governments are facing increasing pressure from their constituents to deal with the issue.
Against that background, according to Keridis, the conditions dictate a more extensive cooperation between Türkiye and the EU, and Greece promotes that line of argument within the union.
"Türkiye is a very important country when it comes to migration and managing migration. It is a key country. We understand that Türkiye has its own needs. We are trying to find ways and a win-win formula that can be beneficial for all parties concerned," he said.
"There are some concrete ideas that will be discussed on the way to the summit of Thessaloniki between Türkiye and Greece in one-and-half months time when Turkish leader (Recep Tayyip) Erdoğan and Greek leader (Kyriakois) Mitsotakis will be able to announce a series of agreements on many fronts," he said.
Regarding a related question on the Turkish public's increased frustration with the growing rate of visa rejection by European countries and its effect on the worsening image of the EU, Keridis said Greece has always supported the visa-free entry of Turkish citizens to the EU.
But he added that most Western and northern EU countries oppose it by claiming the number of Turkish nationals who applied for asylum increased in recent years.
When reminded that Türkiye is the only EU candidate country that was not given visa-free entry to the Schengen zone, a status enjoyed by Western Balkan countries, Moldova and Georgia, among others, Keridis said that Türkiye is too big to compare to other cases.
However, he maintained that the EU is working on plans that can bring visa facilitation in the shorter term and visa-free entry in the future if the required conditions are met by Türkiye.
Improving ties
Türkiye and Greece have often locked horns over several issues, including competing claims to jurisdiction in the Eastern Mediterranean, overlapping claims over their continental shelves, maritime boundaries, airspace, energy, the ethnically split island of Cyprus, the status of islands in the Aegean Sea and migrants. Tensions flared in 2020 over exploratory drilling rights in areas of the Mediterranean Sea – where Greece and Greek Cyprus claim exclusive economic zones – leading to a naval standoff.
A friendlier climate was triggered by Greece dispatching assistance to Türkiye following two devastating earthquakes in February, and Türkiye offering condolences after a deadly train crash in Greece earlier this year.
It also followed a rare meeting between Erdoğan and Mitsotakis on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Vilnius in July, which was hailed as a positive milestone by both countries.
Furthermore, Türkiye and Greece announced on Tuesday evening they will be building on a positive atmosphere that flourished since earlier this year in their bilateral relations in a joint statement released after consultations between their deputy foreign ministers in the Greek capital, Athens.
The sides have also revived their high-level strategic peace talks with an upcoming summit in Thessaloniki in December, which is expected to be an important leap in bilateral ties as Erdoğan will be undertaking a trip over the Aegean Sea and meet Mitsotakis.