Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is due in Istanbul today, in his first
official visit to Turkey as premier, for talks that are expected to touch on
several thorny bilateral issues including a long-standing dispute regarding
territorial waters and the continental shelf, as Greece seeks to prospect for
oil and gas in the Aegean.
Buoyed by the findings of a Norwegian petroleum company that pointed to the
existence of fuel deposits in the Ionian Sea and south of Crete, Samaras is
expected to broach the issue of territorial waters during talks with his Turkish
counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Ankara is opposed to Greece exploring for oil
and gas in the Aegean until a dispute over the delineation of the continental
shelf has been resolved. Samaras has accused Ankara of invoking international
law to defend its rights without having ratified that law though he insists that
Greece wants to settle its differences with Turkey peacefully. Other issues
expected to be discussed during the second session of the Greek-Turkish High
Level Cooperation Council are Erdogan’s objection to the Greek state’s
appointment of muftis for the Muslim minority in Thrace, northern Greece, and
stalled plans for the construction of a state mosque in Athens.
Samaras will be accompanied by several officials including Foreign Minister
Dimitris Avramopoulos and Public Order Minister Nikos Dendias. The latter is
expected to sign a pact with his Turkish counterpart for closer cooperation in
curbing illegal immigration.
Source: Kathimerini
