Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is set to visit Ankara on May 13 to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The announcement came after a special meeting of the European Council in Brussels, where Mitsotakis expressed surprise at Türkiye's negative reaction to Greece's plans to establish marine parks. "Greece exercises its sovereign rights in the Aegean based on international law and the law of the sea," he stated.

Despite improvements in Greek-Turkish relations, Mitsotakis noted that Türkiye's stance on exclusive economic zones (EEZs) remains unchanged and problematic for Greece. "I do not believe the improvement of Greek-Turkish relations...leads to the hypothesis that Türkiye’s position on the EEZs have changed,” he said.

On April 10, Türkiye warned Greece against using environmental issues for political gain following Athens' announcement of two new marine parks. The Turkish Foreign Ministry urged Greece not to involve unresolved Aegean Sea issues, including the status of certain islands, islets, and rocks, in its agenda.

Mitsotakis also commented on the European Council's decisions on relations with Türkiye, which were criticized by Ankara earlier today. He stated that the progress of Euro-Turkish relations is affected by developments in the Cyprus issue, as indicated in the conclusions of the council meeting.

Türkiye, on the other hand, accused the EU of lacking a "strategic vision" in its approach to the country and criticized the new emphasis on Cyprus. The upcoming meeting between Mitsotakis and Erdogan is expected to address these and other pressing issues. (ILKHA)