Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis said today that Greece’s policy of maintaining open channels of communication with Turkey is a nationally beneficial strategy that has produced tangible results, while making clear that “calm waters are useful, but they are not an end in themselves.”

Speaking to SKAI TV, Gerapetritis said the Greek government is pursuing a policy that both helps defuse crises and consistently serves Greece’s national interests.

“Let me be clear. The effort to establish a more functional relationship with Turkey is, in my view, a nationally beneficial policy and one that has produced tangible results,” he said.

Among the main achievements of this policy, Gerapetritis highlighted the significant reduction in migration flows, recalling the situation on the eastern Aegean islands just a few years ago.

He noted that reception facilities were then overcrowded and living conditions extremely difficult, whereas the situation has now changed dramatically.

“Today, those facilities are practically empty, and instead we are seeing a large influx of Turkish visitors who are boosting local economies,” he said, also pointing to a significant decline in violations of Greek national airspace and improved trade relations between the two countries.

The Foreign Minister acknowledged, however, that the improved atmosphere has not led to meaningful progress on the major disputes between the two sides.

“There has been no significant improvement regarding the underlying major issues between the two countries, particularly the delimitation of maritime zones,” he said.

“Calm waters are useful, but not an end in themselves”

He stressed that Greece’s strategy is not limited to preserving a climate of calm.

“Calm waters are useful, but they are not an end in themselves. What we seek is to strengthen our national positions,” he underlined.

“The Greek government’s approach—which both creates channels of communication to de-escalate crises and serves the national interest—has brought issues to the negotiating table that had never before been addressed during the post-1974 period,” he said.

The Foreign Minister also responded to critics of continued dialogue with Ankara, noting that every Greek government since the restoration of democracy in 1974 has maintained channels of communication with Turkey.

On Antonis Samaras

“Every government since the restoration of democracy has held talks with Turkey. There has never been a Greek government that did not engage in dialogue with Turkey,” Gerapetritis said.

He added that Antonis Samaras met Recep Tayyip Erdoğan twice during his tenure as prime minister, while six rounds of exploratory talks on the delimitation of maritime zones also took place.

“And rightly so, just as every government has done. The real question, of course, is what happens when we are engaged in dialogue with Turkey,” he concluded.