Greek–Turkish relations

Talks between Greek and Turkish diplomats are expected to resume soon with a focus on easing tensions in the Aegean after Ankara said it had mistakenly issued a notice to reserve a large chunk of air space over the Aegean Sea for military maneuvers.

It has been a week since last Sunday's electoral victory of the leftist Syriza in Greece. Yet the international media, including Turkey, are still trying to assess and analyze the policies and strategies of the new government. Greece's economic problems are naturally at the center of everybody's concern. 

The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) made public harassment of its aircrafts by Greek military aircrafts, only a day after a similar announcement.

Greek military authorities are on standby after a new spate of air space violations in the Aegean by Turkish aircraft.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday pledged to protect the rights of Turkish Cypriots to have a share of the gains from any hydrocarbon discoveries made inside Cyprus’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) as he announced plans to set up a drilling platform off the island’s coast.

The visit by Turkish Prime Minister Davutoğlu to Athens last weekend was very important in terms of number of ministers accompanying him, along with the number of members of Turkey’s business elite.  The delegation had gone there for “business,” as Davutoğlu stated in his speech at the end of the Turkish-Greek High Level Strategic Council.

Defense Minister Nikos Dendias has called on Ankara to accept that Cyprus is an internationally recognized state, noting that the move would be a potential boon for Turkish Cypriots in view of the existence of energy resources off the island’s coast.

Talks between Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday focused on the prospects for a settlement to the Cyprus problem amid a new peace push, with Venizelos underlining the importance of “encouraging dialogue.”

Relations between Greece and Turkey have been going through its most successful period, according to Istanbul-born Greek politician Eva Kaili.

The 35-year-old served as a member of the Greek Parliament from 2007-2012 from PASOK and was elected to the European Parliament last month.

Gastronomy bridges gap between Greece, Turkey

Culinary arts have helped to close the political gap between Turkey and Greece.

Maria Ekmekcioglu, a Greek native of Istanbul, hosts two cooking shows, one in Greece and the other in Turkey. [Facebook/Maria Ekmekcioglu]