EDITORIAL: Phases
One must have been a daydreamer to expect spectacular results from the meeting of PM Mitsotakis with Turkish President Erdogan.
On the contrary, one would have been realistic if they expected exactly what happened. There was an exchange of views without common ground. The Turkish side is simply closing its ears to the argument of the Greek side that the Turkey-Libya MOU on EEZs is legally null and void.
Does that mean that the meeting should not have taken place? Not at all. The PM rightly noted that problems existed, exist, and will always exist with Turkey.
That reality requires a delicate handling so that an already dangerous balance does not transform into a balance of terror. It requires careful planning and flexibility until the wall of parallel dialogues is broken.
This step-by-step approach in this phase is the proper policy when compared to a policy of appeasement which in Erdogan’s case proved ineffective or a policy of confrontation.
The dialogue with Turkey must continue even if the positions of the Greek side are of those of one crying in the wilderness.
It should continue especially now, with the American and Turkish leaderships, Greece is faced with an historic phase of unpredictable leaders.
Leaderships do not last forever, but the wrong steps can prove irreversible.