Greece and Turkey to Mend Fences

Sudan Events – Sumaya Sayed

Greece and Turkey on Thursday agreed to reboot their relations, establishing a roadmap designed to usher in a new era of ties between the two NATO allies but historic foes.
“There is no issue between us that is unsolvable. So long as we focus on the big picture and don’t end up being like those who cross the sea and drown in the river,” Erdogan said after a meeting with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens. The meeting went on longer than expected.
“Geography and history have dictated that we live in the same neighbourhood. But I feel a historical responsibility to utilize this opportunity to bring the two states side-by-side, just as our borders are,” Mitsotakis said.
Greece and Turkey have been at odds for decades over issues including where their continental shelves start and end, energy resources, overflights of the Aegean Sea, and ethnically split Cyprus.
They came to the brink of war in the 1990s, and in recent years have argued over energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean, defense issues, migration and the acquisition of fighter jets, which interrupted cooperation talks.