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Turkish FM to visit Greece on Friday

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Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is set to visit Athens on Friday for discussions with Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis, the Hürriyet Daily News website reported.

The talks will center on bilateral relations and preparations for the upcoming Turkey-Greece high-level cooperation council meeting scheduled for early 2025, the Hürriyet Daily News reported, citing diplomatic sources. Additionally, the ministers will coordinate dates for meetings of the Political Dialogue and Positive Agenda Joint Action Plan.

Long-standing disputes between Turkey and Greece, particularly those tied to the Aegean Sea, have historically strained relations. These tensions include conflicting claims over territorial waters, airspace boundaries and disagreements over the sovereignty of certain islands. Turkey has accused Greece of militarizing islands near the Turkish coast, a claim Greece disputes. Greece has focused primarily on resolving issues around territorial waters.

In the last two years, however, relations have improved thanks to high-level meetings and increased diplomatic efforts. The mutual visits of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in 2023 and 2024 culminated in the Athens Declaration, which set out important principles for better cooperation. This declaration has since opened doors for cooperation in areas such as transport, tourism, trade, maritime affairs and energy. The countries have also committed to increasing bilateral trade from $6 billion to $10 billion.

Turkey also hopes that deepening diplomatic relations will help address longstanding concerns related to Turkish minorities in Western Thrace and other parts of Greece.

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