Maintaining calm relations in the ‘frozen’ Greek-Turkish dispute

The atmosphere at last Monday's meeting between the two deputy foreign ministers of Greece and Turkey, Alexandra Papadopoulou and Burak Akcapar, respectively, was, as expected between two experienced diplomats, very good. The joint communiqué issued shortly afterwards was formal, but it is particularly interesting that the first leaks mentioned some details, such as the disagreement in the exchange of notices to seafarers and pilots (NAVTEX and NOTAM) regarding exercises, and the issue of religious freedoms.

As has become usual in the last year, the two sides agreed that they should maintain the calm in the Aegean Sea as much as possible. However, the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said at an iftar dinner on Tuesday night that he wished the positive climate in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean "to bring concrete results," while adding all the things that...