The logic of maintaining open channels of communication is closer contacts between the officials of Greece and Turkey, as happened yesterday between the ministers of national defense, Nikos Panagiotopoulos And Hulusi Akar. According to Defense Ministry sources, it was initially agreed that the channel of communication should remain open, that contacts should continue both before and after the elections in the two countries – which, apparently, will take place either on the same Sunday or a week later. . apart, and that any dialogue must be based on international law and the rules of good neighborliness. The ministers exchanged condolences in connection with the tragedy connected with the earthquake in Turkey and the railway accident in Greece. Mr. Akar extended an invitation to Mr. Panayotopoulos to visit the earthquake-affected regions of Turkey to see for himself what is happening there. It is not yet clear whether the visit will take place due to pre-election uncertainty. However, the attitude from the Greek side is positive.

At the moment, there appears to be no scope for a pre-election renewal of confidence building measures (CBMs). Even though pre-election MoUs have been announced in the past, it doesn’t look like this is imminent as what will be on the agenda has yet to be determined. It is known that even about what military memorandums of understanding are (apart from the exchange of teams and delegations for various military sports events), there are different opinions between Athens and Ankara. The same sources said that during the pre-election period it is impossible to determine the agenda, the task that the next government will take on. This means that only one meeting at the level of the Deputy Foreign Minister on the so-called positive agenda (March 22) is planned for the upcoming pre-election period.

Mr. Kombos in Athens

Meanwhile, yesterday was the first visit of the new Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus, Konstantinos Kobos, in Athens, where he met with his colleague Nikos Dendias. The Minister of Foreign Affairs reaffirmed the continued priority of the Cyprus issue for Greece’s foreign policy in order to “achieve a just and sustainable solution on the basis of UN Security Council resolutions”. Mr. Dendias also mentioned the positive atmosphere that has developed between Athens and Ankara after the earthquakes and the accident. However, he added that “it is too early to draw firm conclusions if this climate continues at the political level. But I believe that we should use it to normalize Greek-Turkish relations, which will also have a positive impact on efforts to resolve the Cyprus issue.”

For his part, Mr. Kombos noted that “we will never take dichotomous or two-state solutions in Cyprus or other similar and creative approaches with the same logic.” And he expressed the hope that “thanks to the initiatives that will be taken in the next period, those conditions will be created that will allow the resumption of negotiations.”