Turkish-Greek talks: One small step…well, that’s it

Murat Yetkin writes: I don’t want to be pessimistic, but more talks and more steps are needed to overcome the mutual mistrust between Turkey and Greece and Turkey and the EU. I’d like to borrow Neil Armstrong’s famous quote when he stepped on the moon and say, “One small step for Turkish-Greek relations, but a giant leap for Turkish-European Union relations”. Well, it’s a small step, but I’m afraid it’s a small step for both.

Tuesday January 26 2021 11:48 am

Representatives of Turkey and Greece attend a meeting as part of the bilateral talks on the maritime disputes in Istanbul on Jan 25.

Duvar English

Prominent journalist Murat Yetkin has penned a piece on the exploratory talks that began between Turkey and Greece after a five-year hiatus. According to Yetkin, the talks are a positive but small step.

"I don’t want to be pessimistic, but more talks and more steps are needed to overcome the mutual mistrust between Turkey and Greece and Turkey and the EU," Yetkin said in a piece on the news website Yetkin Report.

"I’d like to borrow Neil Armstrong’s famous quote when he stepped on the moon and say, 'One small step for Turkish-Greek relations, but a giant leap for Turkish-European Union relations.' Well, it’s a small step, but I’m afraid it’s a small step for both," he added.

"Yet the resumption of Turkish-Greek talks can be an icebreaker if followed by steps going beyond the Turkish-Greek rift."

You can reach Yetkin's piece in full from here.

Topics Turkey-Greece Murat Yetkin Ankara-Athens Eastern Mediterranean Turkey-EU relations