ARIANA FERENTINOU

Another round of talks; this time in Athens ARIANA FERENTINOU

Another round of talks; this time in Athens

I think we all remember - with mixed feelings - the last time the Turkish and the Greek foreign ministers met. It was in Ankara in the Presidential Palace of Beştepe on April 15. It was preceded by a “very cordial” meeting between Niko Dendias and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan - according to the Turkish president’s own description. And the day was Thursday, because the day after, Erdoğan spoke about it after the Friday prayers. Why do we have such detailed recollections of that meeting? Simply because it was the first time we witnessed a non-diplomatic fight between the two ministers in front of the cameras where everybody saw with their own eyes how raw feelings of anger and frustration could go out of control even between professional diplomats.

May 27 2021
Dendias and Çavuşoğlu: Getting ready for the second round ARIANA FERENTINOU

Dendias and Çavuşoğlu: Getting ready for the second round

“We wish happy Eid Mubarak to Greek Muslims, as well as to the Muslims all over the world! Peace, happiness and prosperity to all,” Nikos Dendias wrote in his official account in two tweets, one in Greek and one in Arabic.

May 13 2021
No harm in keeping on talking ARIANA FERENTINOU

No harm in keeping on talking

I was looking forward to listening to President Erdoğan’s speech yesterday to his parliamentary group. Except for his short statement in Istanbul last Friday after prayers, he had not spoken in detail about the “adventurous” press conference of the foreign ministers of Turkey and Greece, which in fact took place in the Presidential Palace. And more than that, after he had had a cordial and friendly meeting - in his words - with the Greek Foreign Minister Niko Dendias.

April 22 2021
Pandemic makes Greek government face hard choices ARIANA FERENTINOU

Pandemic makes Greek government face hard choices

While Turkey is preparing to once again close itself in yet another package of restrictive measures against an increasingly alarming number of COVID-19 cases, Greece has decided to do the opposite. It has decided to start easing restrictions that had effectively locked down the country since last November. Announcing the new measures, which would allow small retail shops to open, the responsible Greek minister underlined that the government decision would relieve people under “house arrest” for longer than they could stay. The announcement of the responsible minister reflected the concern of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ government that the society was getting dangerously uneasy: “Following the advice of the scientific committee, the government has decided to proceed with adjustments to the existing measures in order to have better results on every level; health, social and economic.” Note the last two.

April 01 2021
A sane voice from Athens ARIANA FERENTINOU

A sane voice from Athens

With the 62nd round of exploratory and consultation talks between Greece and Turkey set for March 16-17, the issue of whether we should expect any real steps for de-escalation of bilateral tension is back for public debate. Both countries have to deal with a heavy domestic political agenda that is unfolding against the background of a serious pandemic and an exhausted society that is scared both about their health and money in their pocket.

March 11 2021
Aegean heats up once again ARIANA FERENTINOU

Aegean heats up once again

One month after the restart of exploratory talks between Turkey and Greece, nothing is certain about the next step. In theory, the next step was to be the 62nd meeting in Athens.

February 25 2021
On the rocks once again ARIANA FERENTINOU

On the rocks once again

Just over two weeks ago, reporting from the Dolmabahçe offices of the Turkish Presidency was describing the 61st round of the exploratory talks between the Turkish and Greek delegation as a success after a five-year gap. Indeed, the presence of Turkish Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin at the talks was seen as a gesture that the Turkish side wanted to “upgrade” the importance of the event. The agreement to hold the next round in Athens soon was also seen as a sign that Turkey and Greece may have decided to use the mechanism of “exploratory talks” in an effective way. It was never thought to be easy. In fact, from the beginning, it was obvious that the two sides did not see the agenda of the talks in the same way. They were so much apart that one could think that they did not belong to the same diplomatic mechanism. For the Turkish side, the motto was “all the outstanding issues between the two sides must be on the table,” while for the Greek side, it was just about the delimitation of the continental shelf and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean.

February 11 2021
A call from people of two nations ARIANA FERENTINOU

A call from people of two nations

As the dust settles after last Monday’s 61st exploratory talks between Turkey and Greece, and diplomats and politicians retreat to prepare for the next round of talks in a few weeks, this is perhaps the right time to give the floor to the people who have been witnessing a rising tension for at least a year. So far, the people of both countries have no role other than following passively the policies and decisions of their political leaders who promise that they will do their best to defend their countries’ integrity and sovereign rights to the very end at any cost.

January 28 2021
Talking for the sake of talking ARIANA FERENTINOU

Talking for the sake of talking

With the 61st round of exploratory talks between Turkey and Greece starting on Monday - and finishing on the same day - there is an obvious intention by both sides to give the impression that they are making a genuine effort to deescalate tension and to restart the dialogue process.

January 21 2021