Talking Turkey

Guest post by Christos Loutradis

Following our coverage of this month’s Greek elections, The Third Estate continues its partnership with Press-Gr, one of the foremost news sites in Greece, by inviting Christos Loutradis to look at the country’s thawing relations with Turkey.

Where a Prime Minister chooses to visit on his or her first trip abroad is often a telling sign of their foreign policy priorities. Interestingly, of all the places he could have gone, newly elected social democrat, George Papandreou, made the decision to visit that old enemy Turkey. Papandreou’s election signals a significant shift in foreign policy from the days of his conservative predecessor. One that is open, tolerant and ‘aggressive’, but, with luck, in a constructive way.

Has Greece finally woken up? This is the central question of the lips of the nation, from leading analysts in political and media circles, to the demos themselves.

Speaking in Istanbul, Papandreou heralded a new beginning in Greece’s policy towards the Cyprus Issue. “We must allow the two communities in Cyprus to solve their disputes solely alone, without depending on other states or international super-powers,” he said. Papandreou’s statement came as he publicly confirmed his pledge to support Turkey’s candidacy for European Union membership, under the condition that Turkey commits to preventing dogfights over the Aegean Sea.

Meanwhile Turkish Prime Minister, Tayyip Erdogan, is trying to foster the public image of a European politician reaching out to his neighbours in an attempt to resolve the ongoing disputes, most notably with Greece and Armenia. Papandreou’s visit is important to this process of conflict resolution, not because anything concrete was agreed but because of the semiotics. And in our modern mass mediated era, semiotics are important in and of themselves.

As for the Greek media, it has lauded the newly elected Prime Minister for choosing Turkey as his first overseas destination, suggesting a new era between the two nations has begun despite the diplomatic woes waiting to be solved.

“The Greeks have realised that Greece and Turkey should live in harmony because friendly relations are the only way to solve all the heated internal problems,” Greek journalist John Papadimitriou told us. “The media just followed society’s preference.”

The pro-government newspaper, Ta Nea, said Papandreou was in favor of dialogue between Ankara and Athens, but added that he would not accept what it called a “rubber check” from Turkey. The conservative newspaper, Kathimerini, said Papandreou’s meeting with the Turkish Prime Minister would have a “positive impact,” and also drew attention to the Greek Prime Minister’s remarks in which he said the European Union should listen to the Turkish people. The leading political website, Zougla, said Papandreou has declared “a new era of diplomacy” just a few days after his election victory.

“Papandreou will continue the friendly approach toward Turkey he pursued in the early 2000s with the efforts of late Turkish Foreign Minister İsmail Cem,” a professor of International Relations at the University of Panteion in Athens, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Daily News. “If he succeeds, the Prime Minister will move forward in solving all of the issues between Greece and Turkey. In my opinion the main problem is the Cyprus issue, which should bother neither Turkey nor Greece,” the professor said.

Another academic specialising in international relations, Alexis Irakleidis, called for a discussion on different approaches regarding the Aegean problem. “The Greek government should understand that President Barack Obama’s foreign policy will not accept Greece as a good guy and Turkey as a bad one. We should sit down and discuss the situation in the Aegean.”

Whatever happens next, this is undoubtedly a positive first step.