Greek PM Mitsotakis, Turkish President Erdogan agree on road map, confirm positive relations

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday in New York, on the sidelines of the 78th UN General Assembly meeting.

A statement by the PM’s office said both leaders confirmed the positive climate in Greek-Turkish relations and the strong commitment to maintaining it.

Mitsotakis and Erdogan agreed on a road map for contacts between the two countries, as set during the foreign ministers’ meeting on September 5. The roadmap includes meetings of officials in mid-October for political dialog and the positive agenda of the two foreign ministers; the meetings in November on confidence-building measures; and the Supreme Council of Greek-Turkish Collaboration in Thessaloniki on December 7.

The two leaders also exchanged views on regional and international issues and discussed the repercussions of climate crisis in the Mediterranean region, as both countries recently faced serious natural catastrophes, and agreed that boosting collaboration in civil protection is a priority.

They also agreed to collaborate on managing the migration issue, recognizing it is a joint challenge.

The meeting was also attended by the Foreign Affairs ministers of Greece and Turkiye, George Gerapetritis and Hakan Fidan, respectively, who will continue their collaboration and coordination to promote the agreed road map.

Mitsotakis statement

After the meeting with Erdogan, Mitsotakis made the following statement:

“We had a constructive discussion with President Erdogan, in the presence of our Foreign Ministers and our Diplomatic Advisors.

“We agreed to continue to work toward enhancing the positive climate in Greek-Turkish relations that has been established in recent months, and we clearly specified the level of contacts and meetings for the near future in terms of political dialog, Confidence-Building Measures, and promoting the positive agenda.

“We also agreed that the next Supreme Council of (Greek-Turkish) Collaboration will take place on December 7 in Thessaloniki.

“At the same time, we had the opportunity to discuss a series of joint challenges our countries face. I should note especially the issue of illegal migration, in which I believe Turkiye’s collaboration is necessary in order to reduce migration flows to the minimum.

“But we also, naturally, discussed the issues and the great challenges of the climate crisis, as Greece and Turkiye are two Mediterranean countries which during this summer had to face significant natural catastrophes, a product of the planet’s overheating, and of the climate crisis, which is already here.

“I believe that this field of collaboration as well can be further explored so that it leads to some specific agreements, which will be signed in the framework of the Supreme Collaboration Council in December in Thessaloniki.”