Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is paying an official visit to Ankara on Tuesday and Wednesday in an effort to relaunch confidence-building measures between the two sides.
Ahead of the visit, Turkey’s Parliament Speaker Binali Yildirim said that Turkey aims to “enhance friendship” and “reduce animosity” between Ankara and Athens. He said that the two countries share a common history despite disputes in the Aegean Sea.
Mr Tsipras will visit Ecumenical Patriarch Varthalomaios, but it is unclear whether he would use the opportunity to seek the reopening of the Halki Orthodox seminary. Mr Tsipras will, however, visit the former Christian Orthodox seminary that is located on one of the Princes’ islands.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Mr Tsipras are expected to discuss the possibility of a new peace push for Cyprus. The two men will also discuss the case of the eight Turkish officers in Greece after fleeing from Turkey during a failed coup in 2016. Turkey’s National Security Council renewed its pursuit of the suspected participants last week, however Greece has refused to extradite them.
Greek diplomats do not hold particularly high hopes for the talks bearing in mind continued tensions in the Aegean between the two countries.