It has been confirmed that Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will visit Greece this week.
The Turkish leader will visit Athens and Thrace on 7-8 December, and will meeting with President Prokopis Pavlopoulos and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
According to Kathimerini Athens believes the president’s visit comes at a particularly crucial time, given the current state of relations between Turkey, Germany and the United States of America.
High on the agenda for discussion is the EU-Turkey refugee deal, along with the long-standing Cyprus issue and sovereign rights in the Aegean.
Also expected to be on the table are discussions surrounding closer economic cooperation, namely about transport links between the two countries.
As a result of the visit, the Greek government is looking to build on the channels of communication that it currently has in place with Ankara.
Following his meetings in Athens, Erdoğan is scheduled to visit the Muslim community in Thrace.
While Erdoğan formerly visited Greece in 2010 as Turkey’s prime minister, it is the first visit to Greece by a Turkish president in 65 years.