“The Aegean issue must be resolved once and for all,” says Turkish FM Fidan

A meeting between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to take place in February, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced on Thursday, stressing at the same time that the Aegean issue must be resolved.

“Let’s resolve the Aegean issue once and for all. This issue must be discussed based on the national interests of Greece and Turkey. Erdogan and Mitsotakis may meet in February,” Fidan said during a press conference.

“I hope we can finally resolve this Aegean issue without wasting this historic opportunity. I believe this is possible, based on all my analyses, but as I said, it must be discussed on a rational basis, free from internal political pressure in Greece and taking into account the national interests of both Greece and Turkey,” he added.

According to Turkish FM, “exploratory talks” between the two countries are not enough.

He said also that he speaks on the phone with his Greek counterpart Giorgos Gerapetritis.

For Greece the sole issue in the Aegean Sea is “the delimitation of the continental shelf,” while Turkey has a long list including the ownership status of around 16 Greek islands and islets in the area.

Relationships between the two countries are currently not at the best level with violations the FIR Athens by Turkish fighter jets to have started again in the last couple of weeks.

The two sides are seeking a date between February 8-12 for the much anticipated Mitsotakis-Erdogan meeting, ERT reported.

*thumbnail: archive picture from older Mitsotakis-Erdogan meeting.