George Gerapetritis

NATO's newly appointed Secretary General, Mark Rutte, will visit Athens next Tuesday for a meeting with the Greek Prime Minister and government officials.

He is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis, and Defence Minister Nikos Dendias.

Former conservative prime minister and lawmaker Antonis Samaras has responded to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' decision to expel him from New Democracy's parliamentary group, describing his removal as "pre-decided."

"All the things I mentioned in my interview, I have said many times before. Obviously, my expulsion was pre-decided," Samaras told Antenna TV late Monday.

The expulsion of former prime minister Antonis Samaras from the ruling New Democracy party, and its potential impact on the government, is the main issue dominating the political agenda this week.

Greek and Turkish officials are scheduled to meet again in December to continue discussions aimed at resolving their long-standing maritime disputes, following a key meeting last week between Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis and Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan. 

In a meeting held in Athens on Friday, Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis and his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan engaged in candid talks about their countries' enduring disputes in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean.

A meeting on Friday in Athens between the foreign ministers of Greece and Turkey confirmed a positive shift in bilateral relations and a willingness to discuss longstanding differences between the two Aegean neighbors. As anticipated, however, the talks offered little hope for an imminent breakthrough on fundamental differences.

The meeting on Friday of the Greek and Turkish foreign ministers, George Gerapetritis and Hakan Fidan, in Athens is expected to confirm the willingness of the two sides to hold substantive discussions that could lead to the next steps on the contentious issue of the delimitation of the continental shelf and the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean.

Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis, interviewed by Turkish newspaper Hurriyet ahead of Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan's visit to Athens on Friday, expressed his vision of "a neighborhood of lasting peace and prosperity between our people." 

"We have built a level of trust, step by step, enabling honest discussions and the prevention of crises," Gerapetritis noted. 

A day before he is expected in Athens for much-anticipated talks with his Greek counterpart, George Gerapetritis, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan hailed the "positive momentum" in Greek-Turkish relations, but also reiterated Ankara's push for "comprehensive solutions."

Friday's upcoming meeting, in Athens, of Greek and Turkish foreign ministers George Gerapetritis and Hakan Fidan, will be important in determining whether the two countries could seek international arbitration for their bilateral disputes.