Just as they seek a thaw on their lukewarm relations, Türkiye and Greece may come at odds again on July 20. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will be the first sitting Greek leader to attend an “anti-occupation” event on the island of Cyprus while President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will participate in a military parade and a celebration event on the same day on the Turkish Cypriot side of the island, according to the media reports.
The date, celebrated as Peace and Freedom Day by Turkish Cypriots, is a memorial day for Greek Cypriots. On July 20, 1974, Türkiye launched the Cyprus Peace Operation after a coup attempt by the Greek Cypriots on the island south of Türkiye. The operation, which ultimately prevented Cyprus' incorporation into Greece, paved the way for strengthening the safety of the Turkish Cypriot community. After two days, Türkiye suspended the operation and called the U.K. and Greece to come to the negotiation table. Ultimately, guarantor states signed the Geneva Declaration on July 30, 1974. Türkiye relaunched the military operation on Aug. 14 and two days later, a cease-fire was declared, successfully wrapping up the operation. But tragedy followed as withdrawing Greek Cypriot troops committed massacres in Turkish villages on their way back. Mass graves were discovered after the peace operation ended. The Turkish army lost 498 soldiers during the operation, while 70 "mücahits" (volunteer Turkish Cypriot fighters) were killed in the operation.
About two months after the operation, Turkish Cypriots declared autonomy and one year later, announced the establishment of the Turkish Cypriot Federal State. In 1983, its name was changed to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
Greek media outlets reported that Mitsotakis will participate in “anti-occupation” events upon invitation by the Greek Cypriot administration's leader Nikos Christodoulides and will make a speech at an event on the evening of July 20.
Erdoğan is scheduled to address the Turkish Cypriot Parliament on the same day and attend a military parade. The Turkish leader’s schedule was not confirmed yet but he is expected to be accompanied to the island by main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel. The bitter rivals held rare talks after the March municipal elections and Erdoğan invited him to Cyprus for Peace and Freedom Day events.
Though they will be in separate entities on the divided island, Erdoğan and Mitsotakis are expected to hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of a NATO summit in the United States that will begin on July 9. They will assess the progress in rapprochement between the two countries, two months after Mitsotakis was received by Erdoğan in Ankara.
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, both Ankara and Athens reached respective deals with Washington for fighter jets, raising concerns of 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.
After their meeting in Ankara, Erdoğan stated that there were no “unsolvable” problems between the two countries, and the two leaders hailed the state of relations while pledging to further enhance bilateral ties. "We had a constructive and positive meeting and discussed problems in Türkiye-Greece relations. We will solve problems through dialogue," Erdoğan said at a joint news conference with Mitsotakis back then. Erdoğan said that Ankara and Athens are committed to resolving issues via "cordial dialogue, good neighborly ties, and international law" as outlined in last year's Athens Declaration on Friendly Relations and Good-Neighborliness.
Yet, Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias hurled accusations toward Türkiye while affirming “calm” in relations in an interview published on Sunday. Speaking to the Kathimerini newspaper, Dendias claimed that Türkiye adhered to “revisionist” views on various occasions and continued 'harassing' ships and aircraft within Greek territorial waters and airspace.” He also expressed doubt on a full rapprochement and called Ankara to take “a brave stance by accepting international laws” on maritime borders. He also squarely blamed Türkiye for “stalling” resolution of the Cyprus question with its “negative” attitude.
