Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (left) gestures during a press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following their meeting in Ankara, on Monday. For Marc Pierini, ‘tensions between the United States and Turkey should not affect Greek-Turkish relations.’ [UMIT BEKTAS/REUTERS]
Developments in Turkey are making it “difficult” to organize the bilateral Supreme Cooperation Council between Greece and Turkey,” Government Spokesman Pavlos Marinakis has said, appearing to rule the possibility of a meeting between Prime Minister Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the near future.
He was responding to a question at a media briefing about the likelihood of a meeting between the two leaders against the backdrop of the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.
Turkey has been rocked by the largest street protests in more than a decade following the arrest and then, on Sunday, the jailing of Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, widely seen as President Erdogan’s most formidable political rival, pending trial on corruption charges that he strongly denies.
As Kathimerini reported recently, the meeting between Mitsotakis and Erdogan, which had been tentatively scheduled for April 8, had not been locked down, as negotiations between Athens and Ankara were in their final stages before the political crisis in Turkey.
“We are monitoring developments in Turkey. The situation remains fluid and worrying. As for Imamoglu, our position remains firm. Concessions on the rule of law and political freedoms cannot be tolerated. And convincing answers are needed for any concessions,” Marinakis said.
“Given these developments, organizing the Supreme Council for Cooperation between Greece and Turkey immediately has become difficult.”
He said the issue could be discussed by the foreign ministers of both countries at the NATO foreign ministers’ summit in Brussels in early April.