Turkey, Greece FMs meet in Athens to resolve tensions

The Foreign Ministers of Turkey and Greece met today in the Greek capital, Athens, in an effort to resolve tensions and improve relations.

According to a Twitter post by the Turkish Foreign Ministry, the meeting that took place between deputy Foreign Minister, Sedat Onal, and his Greek counterpart, Kostas Fragkogiannis, was the third working meeting to improve and advance dialogue between the two neighbours.

As part of the “Positive Agenda initiative,” the meetings’ purpose is to promote “bilateral dialogue on the economic & trade sectors.”

Deputy Ministers for Foreign Affairs of #Türkiye and #Greece, Ambassador Sedat Önal and Kostas Fragkogiannis held today in Athens, their third meeting on the Positive Agenda initiative, promoting bilateral dialogue on the economic & trade sectors. pic.twitter.com/COhn1MoxgC

— Turkish MFA (@MFATurkiye) February 21, 2022

The two countries’ delegations will reportedly, again, meet tomorrow for the 64th round of the consultative talks between Ankara and Athens, which serves as exploratory dialogue to search for ways to resolve diplomatic and maritime problems regarding the Aegean Sea, stemming from the early 2000s.

Despite tensions between the two rivals having calmed over the past year, there continue to remain unresolved issues, as well as new and emerging issues. That is especially in regards to the treatment of refugees and migrants, with Turkey having called on the European Union and the international community last week to discipline Greece over its killing of around 19 refugees near the Greek-Turkish border this month.

Read: ‘s border push backs following death of 19 refugees in Turkey