A visit Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya was to pay to Athens today was canceled by Ankara shortly before its scheduled time, the Greek Kathimerini newspaper reported.
Yerlikaya was set to make a trip to Athens for a working lunch with Greek Minister for Citizen Protection Michalis Chrisochoidis, Maritime Affairs Minister Christos Stylianides and Migration Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos, where they were expected to discuss migration and security issues.
At noon on Monday, Athens received a notification from Ankara that the visit had been canceled, with no further explanation provided.
According to Greek sources, the cancellation of Yerlikaya’s visit has to do with the escalating tensions between Athens and Ankara in recent days, which have undermined the previously positive atmosphere between the two countries.
In mid-July Turkish and Greek authorities traded harsh criticism over Turkey’s military operation in Cyprus in 1974, with each side accusing the other of distorting the background and unfolding of events.
Cyprus, which joined the European Union in 2004, has been divided since Turkey’s 1974 invasion of the northern part of the island in response to a coup by Greek Cypriot nationalists who wanted to link the country to Greece.
There was also some tension last week when Turkish naval vessels gathered near the Greek islands of Kassos and Karpathos on Tuesday while the Italian research vessel Ievoli Relume was conducting studies for a submarine power link between Crete and Cyprus. Although the vessel had Greek authorization, Turkish warships issued warnings, claiming it was operating in waters Turkey considers part of its continental shelf.
By late Wednesday the Ievoli Relume had completed its research and departed for Iraklio, Crete, following diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the situation.
The escalation of tensions between the two neighbors and NATO allies came against the backdrop of efforts to reduce tensions and put their relations back on track.
After years of tension over migration, energy rights and maritime borders in the Aegean Sea, Greece and Turkey restarted high-level talks in December when President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan paid his first to Athens since 2017 and signed a declaration of friendship between the two historic rivals.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis reciprocated Erdoğan’s visit on May 13.