Spotlight: Turkey's Erdogan to make historic visit to Greece, seek better ties

By Burak Akinci

ANKARA, Dec. 5 ( Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Turkey's NATO ally Greece on Dec 7th, the first visit by a Turkish head of state to its neighbor country since 1952.

The visit is expected to improve bilateral ties and discuss cooperation projects.

TURKEY SEEKS BETTER TIES WITH BALKAN COUNTRIES

Experts said that President Erdogan's visit to Athens is in line with his ambitions to improve his country's ties with the Balkans, a territory that once was within the borders of the Ottoman Empire.

"This could be seen as a part of Turkey's strategy to consolidate its relations with the Balkan neighbors. Unlike the problems that Turkey encountered with other neighbors in the Middle East, it has sought to improve ties with the Balkan world," professor Birgul Demirtas from Ankara's TOBB University of Economics and Technology told Xinhua.

This expert indicated that as his recent trip in Serbia, another Balkan country, the Turkish president would put emphasis on "pragmatic economic purposes."

Turkey and Greece have a history of uneasy relations dating back to the creation of the modern Turkish Republic out of the ruins of the Ottoman Empire.

But Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which came to power in 2002, has sought a more pragmatic relationship with Athens based on trade and tourism rather than nationalism.

"Erdogan will be the first Turkish president to visit Greece in 65 years," Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Hakan Cavusoglu said quoted by the Anadolu Agency, adding that this trip in the neighboring state would mark the opening of a new chapter in bilateral relations.

Ties between Ankara and Athens have also been aided after Alexis Tsipras, who is believed to enjoy a warm personal relationship with Erdogan, became prime minister in 2015.

Greece and Turkey both joined NATO in 1952 but the thaw between the two countries only began in earnest in 1999 after destructive earthquakes struck both nations within weeks.

They also cooperated closely in the 2015 migration crisis, with Greece backing an EU deal for Turkey to stem the flow of migrants.

NO "MIRACLE SOLUTIONS"

However, there are still many discord points and no "miracle solutions," argued professor Demirtas. "Political consultations are still continuing since the 1999 earthquakes and no concrete solutions have been reached until now" on differences opposing the two neighbors on the Aegean issue, the iconic sea that separates them, she said.

"It would be unrealistic to expect miracle solutions on sensitive issues of contention," added Demirtas, pointing out that Greece and Turkey are expected to sign agreements on commerce and transportation.

A Turkish diplomat echoed this remark saying that "We have several bones of contentions. It's true. But we have also many areas and opportunities where we can cooperate and improve our ties."

"The president's visit to Greece is a historic opportunity to highlight the fact that we share the same vision on important matters as energy, trade and tourism," said this source on the condition of anonymity.

Athens is also unhappy over Turkey's upkeep of Byzantine monuments in Istanbul, the former Constantinople, including the Hagia Sophia, which is officially a museum but has seen an increase in Muslim activity in the past years during the AKP rule.

Greece has also been rattled by Erdogan's sometimes angry tirades against the post World War I treaties that set the countries' modern borders and meant almost all the Aegean islands are Greek territory.

Turkey, meanwhile, is discontented that Greece has given sanctuary to suspects wanted over the 2016 failed coup, notably eight troops who escaped by helicopter on the putsch night.

Another festering sore is Cyprus, where the northern portion of the island is still occupied by Turkish troops since 1974 in response to Athens-inspired coup aimed at uniting it with Greece.

ENERGY: AN AREA OF COOPERATION

But Ankara and Athens are clearly on the same frequency when it comes to energy projects, which will be at the top of Erdogan's agenda in Greece.

They work together for the Trans Adriatic Pipeline(TAP) which is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor, one of the priority energy projects for the EU. The project envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijan to European countries.

The pipeline will connect to the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border, run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italy's south.

And finally the rapprochement between Ankara and Athens could be a factor to smoothen ongoing tensions in the Turkish-European dossier.

"Should we expect a repercussion of the improvement in the Turkish-Greek dialogue on ties with Brussels. Difficult to say in the short term," remarked Demirtas who thinks that Athens already has to polish its own ties with the European bloc tarnished because of the major financial crisis that it is still trying to survive.

A commentary published in the prominent Greek daily Ekathimerini underlined the need for both countries to work in favor of their long-term interests, inviting the Turkish president to be more lenient to Athens' demands on both the Agean and Cyprus issues.

"Greece is the biggest champion of Ankara's ambitions among the states of the 28-member bloc. It also has a keen interest in a stable Turkey," the commentary argued. Enditem